ESTABLISHMENT doom merchants around the world predicted the “beginning of the end” today for Bernie Sanders’s campaign to become the Democratic Party presidential candidate.

Many pundits claimed that Mr Sanders’s rival Joe Biden had the presidential nomination in the bag after Tuesday’s primaries.

The former vice-president won four of the six states up for grabs, meaning that Mr Biden currently has a 148-delegate lead.

He took the lion’s share of the delegates in Idaho, Michigan, Mississipi and Missouri.

These gains led several media organisations to hail the “biggest comeback in US political history,” claiming Mr Biden was “storming to the presidential nomination.”

The BBC questioned the Vermont senator’s future in the contest, with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher saying: “It was unclear if Mr Sanders would fight on until the party convention in July.”

Mr Zurcher asserted that it was “beginning of the end” for the socialist politician, in an analysis piece written as though Mr Biden’s victory was assured.

“Barring some sort of drastic change in the race, a recovery seems unlikely in the extreme. With every state Sanders loses, he falls farther behind — and the more improbable his comeback would be,” he added.

Mr Biden himself spoke in similar terms in what seemed to be a conciliatory message to his rival.

“I want to thank Bernie Sanders and his supporters for their tireless energy and their passion,” he said, insisting that they shared a “common goal” and would work together to defeat President Donald Trump.

But the delegate count tells a different story. Mr Biden is ahead with an estimated 857 delegates compared to 709 for Mr Sanders, a lead of just 148.

This is similar to the margin between the pair prior to Tuesday’s vote. To secure the nomination, a candidate must win 1,991 of the available delegates. 

With just 24 of the 52 US states having voted, there is still very much to play for.

Next week, 577 delegates up for grabs in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Ohio and Georgia. 

Mr Sanders vowed to stay in the contest, where he is also facing down the Democratic Party establishment of billionaires and their corporate media backers.

Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar said: “Yes, we are a family, united in restoring our democracy and committed to defeating Trump, but that doesn’t mean we should stop fighting for the candidate that best represents our policy priorities in this primary.”