Joe Biden wins Democratic presidential primary in Wyoming

U.S. President Joe Biden won a caucus in Wyoming, moving further ahead in the Democratic re-election nomination and becoming the only choice on the ballot later Saturday in Alaska.

As the two least populous states, Alaska and Wyoming play a negligible role in party and general voting in presidential election years.

Biden effectively clinched the Democratic nomination in the Georgia primary on March 12 and is now all but certain to face former President Donald Trump as the Republican nominee in November.

Alaska

Alaska Democrats are taking voice votes on preference polls conducted within the party at in-person and virtual district meetings.

Biden is the only candidate to qualify for the ballot after another qualified Democrat, Dean Phillips, suspended his campaign last month. The vote took place during a meeting that dealt with other party business.

The vote was postponed for a week. Democrats originally planned to hold a ranked-ballot election by mail on April 6, but those plans changed when only Biden and Phillips qualified for the ballot and Phillips suspended his campaign.

The changes to their plan were approved by the Democratic National Committee.

Lindsay Kavanaugh, executive director of the Alaska State Party, said there were no provisions written or committed.

“There is no option to vote no,” she said. “You can abstain. You don’t vote for or against, you vote for the candidate.”

She said the party held the vote even though there was only one candidate “to make sure we were as inclusive as possible” and to avoid any inference that party leaders decided on the candidates themselves.

Alaska will allocate 15 pledged delegates based on the results of the vote.

Wyoming

Biden won Wyoming, where polls determined which candidate won the state’s 17 national delegates.

The caucus also determines who will attend the state Democratic convention on June 1 in Casper. At that time, 13 Wyoming delegates to the national convention will be elected.

Wyoming’s other four “automatic” national delegates are the state party chair, vice chair and two national committee members who have not yet pledged their support to Biden or anyone else.