Super Tuesday: Bernie Sanders wins California as he claims biggest prize on polling day
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders clinched victory in California, the biggest prize of Super Tuesday, with 416 pledged Democratic delegates at stake, according to the Associated Press.
California was a much-needed victory for Sanders who appears to be having a bad night with only three state wins compared to former Vice President Joe Biden's seven state victories.
Sanders, in his winning speech in Vermont, called Super Tuesday a two-man race between him and Biden. The latter scored big wins in the upper Midwest and African American strongholds in the South and garnered the support of black voters. Most pollings before Super Tuesday had suggested a Sanders win in California primary.
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Sanders's campaign had reportedly sued to keep polling places in LA County open past 8 pm as wait times of up to four hours and voting machine issues threatened his victory.
Reports state that the campaign filed an emergency injunction to keep polls open an additional two hours on Super Tuesday in LA County, where a new voting system kept in place had not gone as expected. Voters had to wait in long lines for nearly up to four hours as the new system shuttered thousands of neighborhood polling places in favor of larger regional centers.
A request, filed with Los Angeles County elections chief Dean Logan, stated: "Multiple polling locations in the County have experienced extreme wait times for individuals to vote, including wait times up to four hours to cast a ballot."
Sanders made a resounding comeback in California as he had lost the state to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016 Democratic primaries. Clinton had defeated Sanders in California by 7 points, giving her a 33-delegate advantage in the state.