US PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL Joe Biden was declared the winner of the Alaska primary last night after the state shifted to postal voting due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The state’s ballots were sent out before Biden’s rival Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign to become the party’s nominee for the White House race earlier this week, meaning the Vermont senator also took a proportion of the vote.

However, Biden emerged as the clear winner with 55.3% of the vote and nine of the state’s 15 delegates, Alaska Democrats tweeted from the party’s official account.

Sanders took 44.7% of the votes and eight delegates, according to the tweet.

He has stressed that he will remain on the ballot and seek to gain as many delegates as possible in order to “exert significant influence” over the direction of the party.

Biden, like most Americans, is under stay-at-home orders due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and has marked becoming the de facto 2020 nominee with press releases and comments broadcast online from his basement.

He has urged Sanders supporters to join his campaign, which already has the backing of nearly all other ex-rivals in the race including senators Kamala Harris and Amy Klobuchar, and former Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg.

- © AFP 2020