Former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenThe Memo: Warning signs flash for Trump on debates Senate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden National postal mail handlers union endorses Biden MORE capped off a run of victories on Super Tuesday with a narrow win in Texas, a massive prize for a candidate whose campaign appeared on the edge of collapse less than a week ago.

The Associated Press called the race for Biden at 12:57 a.m. CST. He notched several victories on Tuesday, primarily in the South, where strong support from black voters and moderates allowed him to run up the score against his chief rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersSenate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden Hillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll Schumer, Sanders call for Senate panel to address election security MORE (I-Vt.).

But Sanders scored a major victory of his own in California, the most delegate-rich state of the campaign, as well as in Colorado, Utah and his home state of Vermont. Those wins are expected to award him more delegates than any other candidate, though it will not give him the kind of insurmountable delegate lead that he hoped for and that his opponents had feared.

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Meanwhile, two other contenders, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Sen. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenNo new taxes for the ultra rich — fix bad tax policy instead Democrats back away from quick reversal of Trump tax cuts It's time for newspapers to stop endorsing presidential candidates MORE (D-Mass.), saw a series of lackluster finishes. But perhaps none were more disappointing than Warren’s distant third-place finish in her home state of Massachusetts, where she fell to both Biden and Sanders.

For Bloomberg, who appeared on primary ballots for the first time Tuesday, the results of the nominating contests were just as disappointing. He spent hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising and organizing operations across the Super Tuesday map in hopes of capitalizing on moderate unease with Biden.

That theory did not materialize Tuesday, however, and a source close to his campaign said he would begin to reassess his presidential bid.

The Super Tuesday results suggest that the Democratic nominating contest has become a two-person race between Biden and Sanders, drastically different candidates who represent opposing factions of the Democratic coalition. Biden is a moderate promising a continuation of the policy agenda of former President Obama, while Sanders is a self-described democratic socialist intent on bringing about radical change in government and industry.

Biden’s victories on Tuesday began in Virginia, where he was projected the winner almost as soon as polls closed. That was followed by wins in a handful of Southern states, including North Carolina and Alabama, where he was able to build on the momentum he gained after a decisive victory in the South Carolina primary last week.

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Biden also picked up wins in Minnesota and Oklahoma, two states that Sanders carried during his 2016 primary bid against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' Virginia Democrat blasts Trump's 'appalling' remark about COVID-19 deaths in 'blue states' The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden asks if public can trust vaccine from Trump ahead of Election Day | Oklahoma health officials raised red flags before Trump rally MORE.

Two things happened in recent days that helped propel Biden’s wins on Super Tuesday.

He won a major victory in South Carolina, the first presidential primary win of his political career, on Saturday. And in the days that followed, two of his top rivals in the primary field’s moderate lane, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg Pete ButtigiegBogeymen of the far left deserve a place in any Biden administration Overnight Defense: Woodward book causes new firestorm | Book says Trump lashed out at generals, told Woodward about secret weapons system | US withdrawing thousands of troops from Iraq A socially and environmentally just way to fight climate change MORE and Sen. Amy Klobuchar Amy KlobucharEPA delivers win for ethanol industry angered by waivers to refiners It's time for newspapers to stop endorsing presidential candidates Biden marks anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act, knocks Trump and McConnell MORE (D-Minn.), dropped out of the race and endorsed him, a sign that centrists were willing to coalesce behind a single alternative to Sanders.

Sanders, who emerged as the nominal front-runner in the race after a top finish in Iowa and back-to-back victories in the New Hampshire primary and Nevada causes, is still very much in contention. His win in California on Tuesday will give him the largest single delegate haul to date.