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| Super Tuesday: Biden gets off to flying start as first polls close | Super Tuesday: Biden gets off to flying start as first polls close |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Biden earns wins in Alabama, Virginia and North Carolina, but voting is still happening the two biggest states of the night, Texas and California | Biden earns wins in Alabama, Virginia and North Carolina, but voting is still happening the two biggest states of the night, Texas and California |
| Joe Biden racked up a trio of early victories on Super Tuesday in the key southern states of Virginia, North Carolina and Alabama, in a strong start to the most pivotal night of the Democratic presidential primary race. | |
| Senator Bernie Sanders took an early home-state win in Vermont, as expected, as polls began closing in some of the 12 other states voting from California to Maine. A huge roar went up at Sanders’ Super Tuesday rally in his home town of Burlington, with chants of “Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!”. | Senator Bernie Sanders took an early home-state win in Vermont, as expected, as polls began closing in some of the 12 other states voting from California to Maine. A huge roar went up at Sanders’ Super Tuesday rally in his home town of Burlington, with chants of “Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!”. |
| But Biden was quickly declared winner in the battleground state of Virginia, the delegate-rich state of North Carolina, and Alabama, where 52 pledged delegates were up for grabs, by a large margin of victory. It suggested this could be a difficult night for Sanders, who went into Super Tuesday as the frontrunner. | |
| Winning Virginia, which had 99 delegates available, was an early lift for Biden after Sanders and billionaire former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg heavily contested it over the past week. | |
| Bloomberg won the US territory of American Samoa, which has just six delegates in play, but was poised to receive no delegates in Virginia, where he spent nearly $18 million on advertising. Exit polls also indicated Bloomberg was struggling to clear the 15% threshold required to net delegates in North Carolina, where he spent more than $17 million and built a large field operation. | Bloomberg won the US territory of American Samoa, which has just six delegates in play, but was poised to receive no delegates in Virginia, where he spent nearly $18 million on advertising. Exit polls also indicated Bloomberg was struggling to clear the 15% threshold required to net delegates in North Carolina, where he spent more than $17 million and built a large field operation. |
| Early results were also disappointing for senator Elizabeth Warren, who was trailing Biden and Sanders in her home state of Massachusetts. | Early results were also disappointing for senator Elizabeth Warren, who was trailing Biden and Sanders in her home state of Massachusetts. |
| The first polls closed at 7pm ET on Super Tuesday – the most consequential voting day of the Democratic presidential primary race – after millions of voters across the US cast their ballots for the candidate they want to see take on Donald Trump in the November election. | The first polls closed at 7pm ET on Super Tuesday – the most consequential voting day of the Democratic presidential primary race – after millions of voters across the US cast their ballots for the candidate they want to see take on Donald Trump in the November election. |
| Sanders headed into this critical day as the frontrunner, well positioned to dominate in two of the biggest states – California and Texas – with the support of energized liberals, young voters and Latinos. | Sanders headed into this critical day as the frontrunner, well positioned to dominate in two of the biggest states – California and Texas – with the support of energized liberals, young voters and Latinos. |
| But the race had shifted dramatically in the 72-hours between the South Carolina primary and polls opening on Tuesday, and Sanders was fighting to blunt the sudden rise of Joe Biden, emboldened by a wave of endorsements from the former vice-president’s ex-rivals Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg, who both dropped out of the race in recent days. | But the race had shifted dramatically in the 72-hours between the South Carolina primary and polls opening on Tuesday, and Sanders was fighting to blunt the sudden rise of Joe Biden, emboldened by a wave of endorsements from the former vice-president’s ex-rivals Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg, who both dropped out of the race in recent days. |
| Sanders and Biden represent starkly different visions for the Democratic party and the country. The choice may be clearer after Tuesday, when a third of all Democratic delegates will be awarded. | Sanders and Biden represent starkly different visions for the Democratic party and the country. The choice may be clearer after Tuesday, when a third of all Democratic delegates will be awarded. |
| “The political establishment has made their choice: Anybody but Bernie Sanders,” Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir wrote in a fundraising email to supporters. | “The political establishment has made their choice: Anybody but Bernie Sanders,” Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir wrote in a fundraising email to supporters. |
| At a rally in Dallas on Monday night, Klobuchar urged the Democratic party to unite around Biden. She was joined on stage former Texas congressman and one-time presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, who also announced his support for Biden. | At a rally in Dallas on Monday night, Klobuchar urged the Democratic party to unite around Biden. She was joined on stage former Texas congressman and one-time presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, who also announced his support for Biden. |
| “We need to unite our party and our country and to do it not just with our words, but with our actions,” Klobuchar said. | “We need to unite our party and our country and to do it not just with our words, but with our actions,” Klobuchar said. |
| “If we spend the next four months dividing our party and going at each other, we will spend the next four years watching Donald Trump tear apart this country,” she added. | “If we spend the next four months dividing our party and going at each other, we will spend the next four years watching Donald Trump tear apart this country,” she added. |
| The day will also test for the first time the strength of billionaire former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg, who skipped the early voting states and poured millions of dollars into a campaign that has focused on Super Tuesday. | The day will also test for the first time the strength of billionaire former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg, who skipped the early voting states and poured millions of dollars into a campaign that has focused on Super Tuesday. |
| Fourteen states, from California to Virginia, and Arkansas to Massachusetts, have been holding caucuses or primaries as the race moves from a series of intimate, single-day contests to something more akin to a national vote. By the time polls close on the west coast at 11pm ET, nearly 40% of the total delegates to the party’s convention will have been awarded. | Fourteen states, from California to Virginia, and Arkansas to Massachusetts, have been holding caucuses or primaries as the race moves from a series of intimate, single-day contests to something more akin to a national vote. By the time polls close on the west coast at 11pm ET, nearly 40% of the total delegates to the party’s convention will have been awarded. |
| That means Super Tuesday has the potential to clarify a dramatically unsettled race. But it is still unclear whether any candidate will establish a controlling advantage. If that happens, it would pave the way toward a contested convention, the likes of which the party has not seen since 1952. | That means Super Tuesday has the potential to clarify a dramatically unsettled race. But it is still unclear whether any candidate will establish a controlling advantage. If that happens, it would pave the way toward a contested convention, the likes of which the party has not seen since 1952. |
| Biden’s commanding victory in South Carolina on Saturday revived his flagging campaign and positioned him as the leading moderate contender to take on Sanders, a Democratic socialist who is the most progressive of the candidates. Yet Sanders remains powerfully positioned to expand his narrow delegate lead following strong showings in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. | Biden’s commanding victory in South Carolina on Saturday revived his flagging campaign and positioned him as the leading moderate contender to take on Sanders, a Democratic socialist who is the most progressive of the candidates. Yet Sanders remains powerfully positioned to expand his narrow delegate lead following strong showings in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. |
| Bloomberg remains something of a wildcard. The field of major Democratic candidates – which reached more than two dozen at its height last year – has narrowed to five people, including Biden, Sanders, Bloomberg, the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren and the long-shot Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. | Bloomberg remains something of a wildcard. The field of major Democratic candidates – which reached more than two dozen at its height last year – has narrowed to five people, including Biden, Sanders, Bloomberg, the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren and the long-shot Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. |
| Sanders, who raised a staggering $46m in February alone, had benefited from a fractured opposition. While Biden, Bloomberg, and, to a lesser degree, Warren, compete for overlapping shares of the Democratic electorate, Sanders has edged past by consolidating support among the party’s left wing. | Sanders, who raised a staggering $46m in February alone, had benefited from a fractured opposition. While Biden, Bloomberg, and, to a lesser degree, Warren, compete for overlapping shares of the Democratic electorate, Sanders has edged past by consolidating support among the party’s left wing. |
| In recent weeks, Democratic leaders and officials have warned that a splintered result on Super Tuesday would put Sanders on a runaway path to the nomination. Biden’s burst of support has not yet quelled those fears. | In recent weeks, Democratic leaders and officials have warned that a splintered result on Super Tuesday would put Sanders on a runaway path to the nomination. Biden’s burst of support has not yet quelled those fears. |
| “You’re making them really nervous,” Sanders said at a rally that drew more than 15,000 people in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday. “They’re getting quite upset.” | “You’re making them really nervous,” Sanders said at a rally that drew more than 15,000 people in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday. “They’re getting quite upset.” |
| Propelled by young voters and Latinos, Sanders holds a commanding lead in California and Texas, according to surveys published before the South Carolina primary. They are the two states with the highest number of delegates to award on Tuesday. | Propelled by young voters and Latinos, Sanders holds a commanding lead in California and Texas, according to surveys published before the South Carolina primary. They are the two states with the highest number of delegates to award on Tuesday. |
| If Sanders opens a wide lead, it could become mathematically difficult for his rivals to catch him. | If Sanders opens a wide lead, it could become mathematically difficult for his rivals to catch him. |
| But Biden hopes the momentum from his decisive victory in South Carolina will carry him into states with large African American electorates, like Alabama, Arkansas and Virginia, where he has been boosted by a slate of new endorsements from national lawmakers and local leaders. | But Biden hopes the momentum from his decisive victory in South Carolina will carry him into states with large African American electorates, like Alabama, Arkansas and Virginia, where he has been boosted by a slate of new endorsements from national lawmakers and local leaders. |
| Perhaps no candidate stands to lose more on Super Tuesday than Bloomberg. His support has more than doubled since his late entry in November, but recent polling suggests he has lost ground after a widely criticized debate performance last month, during which he came under attack for his past comments on women and people of color. | Perhaps no candidate stands to lose more on Super Tuesday than Bloomberg. His support has more than doubled since his late entry in November, but recent polling suggests he has lost ground after a widely criticized debate performance last month, during which he came under attack for his past comments on women and people of color. |
| Speaking to reporters from a campaign stop in Miami on Tuesday morning, Bloomberg said his only path to the nomination may be a contested convention. | Speaking to reporters from a campaign stop in Miami on Tuesday morning, Bloomberg said his only path to the nomination may be a contested convention. |
| “I don’t think I can win any other way,” he said, acknowledging that he faces long odds in the 14 states voting on Tuesday. “I don’t know that we’re going to win any.” | “I don’t think I can win any other way,” he said, acknowledging that he faces long odds in the 14 states voting on Tuesday. “I don’t know that we’re going to win any.” |
| Democrats award delegates proportionally, dividing the spoils between any candidate who reaches a 15% threshold in a state or its congressional districts. If the result is split in delegate-rich states like California and Texas, Democrats expect a drawn-out primary race that could last all the way to the party’s convention in Milwaukee in July. | Democrats award delegates proportionally, dividing the spoils between any candidate who reaches a 15% threshold in a state or its congressional districts. If the result is split in delegate-rich states like California and Texas, Democrats expect a drawn-out primary race that could last all the way to the party’s convention in Milwaukee in July. |
| Warren faces an uphill battle on Tuesday after a string of disappointing finishes. Her campaign manager, Roger Lau, outlined in a memo released on Sunday how the Massachusetts senator could still win the Democratic nomination. | Warren faces an uphill battle on Tuesday after a string of disappointing finishes. Her campaign manager, Roger Lau, outlined in a memo released on Sunday how the Massachusetts senator could still win the Democratic nomination. |
| Lau argued that no candidate is likely to accumulate enough delegates to win the nomination outright. He touted as signs of strength the campaign’s biggest fundraising totals to date, increased ad spending in critical states and an expected delegate pickup on Super Tuesday from “nearly every state”. | Lau argued that no candidate is likely to accumulate enough delegates to win the nomination outright. He touted as signs of strength the campaign’s biggest fundraising totals to date, increased ad spending in critical states and an expected delegate pickup on Super Tuesday from “nearly every state”. |
| “We’re in this race for the long haul,” he wrote, adding: “In the road to the nomination, the Wisconsin primary is halftime, and the convention in Milwaukee is the final play.” | “We’re in this race for the long haul,” he wrote, adding: “In the road to the nomination, the Wisconsin primary is halftime, and the convention in Milwaukee is the final play.” |
| Additional reporting: Oliver Laughland in Dallas, Texas, Ed Pilkington in Burlington, Vermont and Joan E Greve in Washington DC | Additional reporting: Oliver Laughland in Dallas, Texas, Ed Pilkington in Burlington, Vermont and Joan E Greve in Washington DC |