A cake metaphor and Jill Biden’s budding career as a bodyguard

Remember this time last week when eight Democrats were still running for president?

We’ve lived 10 lifetimes since then.

How did we get here? Here’s the recipe for a wild six days in politics. 

First, the then-struggling campaign of a former vice president has to make a huge bet on South Carolina – and it pays off.

Then, in the span of 48 hours, three moderate Democrats have to end their campaigns, with two coming out in support of said former vice president. 

Next, that former vice president has to outperform expectations on Super Tuesday, taking the lead in pledged delegates from the previous leader – a sitting senator with his own legion of devoted supporters – and thus breathing new life into his campaign.

In the next 48 hours, a billionaire has to end his campaign, and so does the sitting senator who is at least partially responsible for that billionaire’s downfall. 

And that is how you get to the moment we are in now. 

The ingredients above make one bil ol’ mixed up political cake. Former Vice President Joe Biden now leads the race for the Democratic nomination, and Sen. Bernie Sanders isn’t far behind. (Bookmark alert: We’ve got a handy graphic for keeping track.) Five candidates have dropped out of the race in six days.

And there’s more to come. 

On Tuesday, six more states are headed to the polls, and the race for the coveted 1,991 delegates truly remains a toss up. Only 19 contests have finished. There’s literally dozens more. 

Plus, there a bunch of questions that still need answering. 

With Sen. Elizabeth Warren out of the race, who will her supporters turn to?

Will some trends we’ve already seen (Sanders holding strong with his devoted base, Biden winning big with black voters, for example) continue as the states roll on?