Sanders won his home state of Vermont, plus Colorado and Utah. Had he won Texas and California, what appeared to be an early Biden runaway would have ended up pretty even. But Biden, again, on the strength of those late-deciders, took Texas. It appears Sanders is headed toward victory in California, a win that will keep him in the delegate race. But there is no doubt Sanders fell short on Super Tuesday.

Elizabeth Warren won nothing. Michael Bloomberg won American Samoa. In coming days, both will face increasing pressure to get out. Meanwhile, Biden, with virtually no campaign apparatus in Super Tuesday states, much less in those still to come, will face a new world. Sanders is still out there. It’s time for a one-on-one.

What is at stake is the resolution of a deep divide in the Democratic Party between Sanders’s young, revolution-minded constituency, now strengthened by significant numbers of Hispanic voters, and Biden’s older, more cautious electorate. The outcome might be decided less on the substance of issues than on the temperament and stamina of two men who, were either elected, would turn 80 shortly after entering the White House. Many Democrats, especially those who were proud of their candidates’ diversity, will wonder how they got here.