WEST ROXBURY - At 9:35 a.m., as a steady stream of voters headed into Holy Name Church gymnasium to vote, former President Bill Clinton arrived in an SUV.

He waved, he shook hands, he posed for pictures, he kissed an old lady on the top of her head.

One man was overheard exclaiming, "I just bumped into the president. It was awesome!"

Clinton, the former president and the husband of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, is spending Tuesday morning in Massachusetts, visiting four polling places in the eastern part of the state. He also held a late-night rally in Worcester on Monday.

Massachusetts is one of more than a dozen states holding a presidential primary or caucus on Super Tuesday, and it is home to one of the tightest contests on the Democratic side, where Hillary Clinton is running against Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

"It's great to see the attention here in Boston and Massachusetts," said Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. "I think that people aren't taking it for granted. Certainly, President Clinton being here today says a lot on Election Day. He could be in any state in the country, and he's here in Massachusetts."

Clinton spent 45 minutes at the polling place in West Roxbury, his first stop of the day. He did not take press questions, but spent the time shaking hands, chatting with voters and posing for pictures. He repeated over and over, ""Hi, How are you?" and "So glad to see you." He greeted a child with a, "Hi, beautiful," signed a voter's Hillary Clinton campaign sign, and said "thank you" and "bless you" to voters. He greeted a woman who he was told was 104 years old.

"Welcome to West Roxbury," a voter said. Another chimed in, "We'll make you an honorary citizen." Clinton said, "Thank you."

Clinton walked inside the polling place, escorted by Walsh and West Roxbury's unofficial mayor Richie Gormley. He stopped at a bake sale near the entrance and bought a cup of coffee.

When one woman asked for a photo inside the polling place, Clinton said, "As long as we're not violating any election laws," and posed. Clinton waved, saluted and gave thumbs up to voters and volunteers. As he left the polling place, a group of around 100 elementary school children were waiting outside. Clinton gave high fives to many of them, and posed with Walsh in front of the children.

Walsh said after Clinton left that one woman told the former president that she had voted for Republican Ted Cruz, but her 98-year-old mother voted for Hillary Clinton. "He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and wrote her a note for her mother," Walsh said.

Boston City Councilor Matt O'Malley, a supporter of former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley -- who started supporting Hillary Clinton when O'Malley dropped out of the presidential race -- called Clinton's visit "such an honor."

"President Bill Clinton was one of the greatest presidents certainly of my lifetime," O'Malley said. "You think of how the economy was so strong in the 90s, you think of the way he conducted foreign policy, he was terrific."

"It's an absolute honor for the neighborhood that a former president would come by and spend some time with us and meet the kids," O'Malley said.

As Clinton's vehicle drove away from the polling place, he stuck his head out of the SUV and waved.

Correction: Gormley is often referred to as West Roxbury's mayor, but that is not his formal title.