Super Tuesday: Bernie Sanders wins Utah, Colorado and Vermont, looks to clinch Texas and California
Bernie Sanders managed to secure his first major victory on Super Tuesday scoring a decisive win at the Democratic presidential primary in his home state of Vermont.
He also won the Colorado and Utah Democratic presidential primaries. Voting in Colorado ended at 7 pm with the Vermont senator receiving 36% of the vote. Meanwhile, Michael Bloomberg was at 24%, Joe Biden at 21%, and Elizabeth Warren at 17% and Tulsi Gabbard at 1%.
Early results in Utah had showed Sanders with a lead of 32.7% of the vote shortly after polls closed.
The Democratic socialist leader was expected to win in Vermont, which has a total of 16 delegates with the most recent polls showing him leading the primary by a whopping 41 percentage points. As one-third of total pledged delegates for the Democratic nomination are at stake, the Vermont senator is expecting a number of victories on Super Tuesday, CNN reports.
Sanders is also leading in California and Texas polls, where a sizeable number of delegates are up for grabs: 415 and 228 respectively. Meanwhile, former Vice President Joe Biden has seen a massive surge in support after his triumph in South Carolina on Saturday, February 29 .
Earlier on March 3, Biden scored another big victory in Virginia, the state with the fourth-highest number of delegates up for grabs at 99.
The Virginia victory was a litmus test for Biden's popularity against that of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The financial giant has invested over $600 million in campaign ads over the past few weeks and is facing voters for the first time in the 14 nationwide primaries. However, Biden secured big victories in both Alabama and North Carolina, removing any doubts over the former vice president's strength among African American and affluent suburban voters who make his primary base.
Both Sanders and Biden are leading in Maine and Oklahoma, the results of which will be declared shortly. They are also in the early lead in Massachusetts, where Senator Elizabeth Warren is hoping for a home-state win.
But the deciding factor for the nomination will be victories in the states of Texas and California, which when combined make up a third of the total delegates needed to win the Democratic presidential ticket. While Sanders is expected to win both states, it will likely be hours or even days before the Golden and Lone Star states can be called.
You can follow our coverage of the polls here: Super Tuesday Live Updates