Texas completes Biden's transformation of Democratic race

Former Vice President Joe Biden capped a transformational Super Tuesday by winning Texas, the third-largest overall prize in the Democratic primaries, and at least eight other states.

The win came after Biden swept other southern states including Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee and Arkansas. Biden also won Oklahoma and the home states of Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who dropped out Monday and endorsed Biden, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who won no states.

Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University, said Biden benefited from his strong support in the African American community after serving eight years as vice president to the first black president, Barack Obama. Biden also consolidated moderate white voters who had supported Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who quit the race Sunday and endorsed Biden.

“I would expect him to really ramp up his support,” Jones said.

Texas has 228 delegates, the largest of the day behind California with 415 delegates, which Sen. Bernie Sanders won. Sanders also won Colorado, Utah and his home state of Vermont.

Counties along the U.S.-Mexico border, where the population is largely Latino, overwhelmingly went for Sanders. Sanders has appealed to Latino voters and, according to exit polls, garnered 45% of their vote in Texas. However, Biden scored many of the counties in the northern half of the state, where voters are largely more moderate.

Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg won American Samoa.

But after Biden lost the early contests in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, he revived his campaign Saturday by winning South Carolina. His big wins Tuesday recast the race as a contest between Biden and Sanders.

“He’s a man of unquestionable character,” Christian Omoruyi, 18, said in Alexandria, Va., after voting for the first time to support Biden. "He's someone who can bring this country together."

--Bart Jansen, Ryan Miller and Rebecca Morin

Trump sweeps Republican primary contests

In unsurprising results, President Donald Trump won every state that held a Republican presidential primary on Super Tuesday.

Thirteen states held Republican primaries. Meanwhile, after Virginia’s Republican party voted to cancel their Super Tuesday primary earlier in the fall, voters in the state only participated in a Democratic presidential primary.

Trump’s remaining notable opponent, former governor of Massachusetts Bill Weld, has just one delegate to his name after months of campaigning against Trump. The president won Weld's state of Massachusetts. His lone delegate is from the Iowa caucuses, and not from any of the Super Tuesday contests.

GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel stated Trump’s “record of results has fueled the momentum for our movement” and no “Democrat presidential candidate can compete with President Trump in November.”

Brad Parscale, Trump's 2020 campaign manager, stated that “the media is hyperventilating” about Biden’s strong showing on Super Tuesday, and that “Even if Bernie is not on November’s ballot, his big-government socialist ideas will be because they have become mainstream in today’s Democrat Party. President Trump will wipe the floor with whatever Democrat is unlucky enough to be the nominee.”

- Savannah Behrmann

Does Biden have Secret Service protection?

Two protestors who rushed the stage during Joe Biden’s remarks on Super Tuesday prompted a flurry of questions on social media about whether the former vice president has protection from the U.S. Secret Service.

The answer is no.

As a former vice president, Biden was entitled to Secret Service for up to six months after the date he left office. Though the Department of Homeland Security can extend that window, it did not do so in Biden’s case.

The Biden campaign did not immediately respond.

“Major” presidential and vice-presidential candidates receive the protection within 120 days of the general election under the law. But in practice, many candidates receive it much earlier in the campaign cycle. The decision is not made by the Secret Service itself, but rather the DHS secretary, in consultation with congressional leaders.

DHS considers several factors when deciding which candidates will be covered, according to the U.S. Secret Service website. Among the factors is whether the candidate is polling at 15% or higher for at least 30 days. Campaigns have to request protection and sometimes they don’t because it can make it more difficult to connect with voters.

-- John Fritze, Bart Jansen and Chris Woodyard

Bad night for Elizabeth Warren capped by losing home state of Massachusetts

BOSTON – It was a disastrous Super Tuesday for Elizabeth Warren headlined by a loss in her home state of Massachusetts where she finished a distant third.

Warren, U.S. senator from Massachusetts, all but disappeared on a night when the Democratic presidential primary turned into a head-to-head race between former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

She not only won zero states; she hasn't yet finished second in any primary. Her Massachusetts finish was actually her top-performing and the only state where she won more than 20% of the vote.

Warren, who led national polls in the fall, appeared to finish above the 15% viability threshold in only a handful of states, meaning she will leave Super Tuesday with far fewer delegates than the two frontrunners.

Biden was declared the winner of Massachusetts by the Associated Press. With nearly half of precincts reporting, Biden had 34% of the vote, followed by, 26% and Warren 21%.

Biden did not campaign in Massachusetts, have any organization in the state or air any television ads in the state. In fact, a WBUR poll last Friday showed him polling at 9% in fifth place. Biden’s rapid post-South Carolina surge was arguably on display in Massachusetts more than any other state.

Warren’s campaign drew a tweet from President Donald Trump: “Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ Warren, other than Mini Mike, was the loser of the night. She didn’t even come close to winning her home state of Massachusetts. Well, now she can just sit back with her husband and have a nice cold beer!”

Warren, who has campaigned in the party’s progressive lane, has lost support among the left to Sanders. Her campaign has focused on patching together delegates. But it’s hard to find a pathway for her to win a majority of the 1,991 delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination, meaning she would have to win a brokered convention.

Nonetheless, she looked ahead in an early evening campaign speech in Detroit.

"Predictions are a terrible business. Pundits have gotten it wrong over and over," Warren said. "Cast a vote that will make you proud. Vote from your heart. And vote for the person who you think will make the best president of the United States.”

- Joey Garrison

Sanders wins California, largest prize of Super Tuesday

Bernie Sanders won the biggest Super Tuesday prize of all – California – salvaging what could have been a dismal day against former vice president Joe Biden.

The win was called as soon as polls closed based on exit polls and not on returns which are still being counted.

California is the biggest of the 14 Super Tuesday states that are expected to shape the Democratic presidential primary going forward. The state has 415 delegates though Sanders is not expected to win them all.

Sanders had devoted a lot of time and resources to win the Golden State, which began early voting in early February and lasted most of the month.

Millions had already voted in the state before Biden had begun to build momentum following his win Saturday in the South Carolina primary. Biden has won eight states during Super Tuesday. Sanders has also won Colorado, Utah and Vermont.

- Ledyard King

Protestor disrupts Biden's speech in California

LOS ANGELES -- Former Vice President Joe Biden was only a few words into his Super Tuesday victory speech when he suddenly had an unexpected visitor on the platform -- a protester.

A woman tried to climb onto the riser from behind Biden and his wife Jill before she was grabbed and pulled down. It was long enough, however, to wave a sign just as Biden was launching into his remarks and a battery of cameras was trained on him.

Boos erupted from the crowd when the protesters appeared and relief when the woman was removed. Biden looked flustered, but he made no mention of the protester and picked right up where he left off with his remarks.

He also lingered after his speech, mingling with a group of supporters on the outdoor basketball court in the Baldwin Hills area of Los Angeles.

- Chris Woodyard

Sanders campaign files injunction to keep California polls open later

The campaign for Bernie Sanders confirmed it has filed an emergency injunction in California to keep Los Angeles County polls open until 10 p.m. local time tonight, (1 a.m. EST) following reports of massive waits and voting machine problems there.

- Ledge King

Biden wins Massachusetts primary

Joe Biden has won the Democratic presidential primary in Massachusetts, upsetting Elizabeth Warren in her home state.

Biden called Klobuchar to thank her for the endorsement

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Former Vice President Joe Biden called to thank U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar for her endorsement Tuesday night as cable networks and the Associated Press called the race in her home state for Biden, Klobuchar’s campaign manager Justin Buoen said Tuesday night.

Buoen stopped by Biden's Super Tuesday watch party in Minneapolis, fielding “thank yous” and congratulations from grateful Biden supporters. He said Klobuchar was watching the results from home and plans to hit the road to campaign for the former vice president again this weekend.

“I think Amy put him over the top here in Minnesota,” he said. “All the polls said – our internals and the public polling that you all saw – said that Amy was number one, Sen. Sanders was number two, and the vice president was third or fourth depending on the poll. So I think that her endorsement was a big deal and it helped put him over the top.”

Though he said the night was bittersweet, he was proud of the way the campaign handled her exit from the race.

“Amy wanted it to be about the Democratic Party, about the country and being bigger than herself,” he said. “And that’s why she chose not to continue on. I think we would have won Minnesota, but we didn’t see a path to the nomination. And so she made the determination that she was going to endorse the vice president, do everything she could to help him win in Super Tuesday states and Minnesota, and I think that was definitely the right choice.”

- Brianne Pfannenstiel

Sanders wins Utah primary

Sen. Bernie Sanders has taken home his third win of the night, coming out on top in the state of Utah.

Sanders, who has led in the polls in the state, will take a share of the state’s 29 delegates. The win still leaves him significantly behind former Vice President Joe Biden in the national delegate count. Biden has been declared the winner in seven of the 14 Super Tuesday states, compared to Sanders’ three.

In his 2016 run, Sanders won the state by a huge margin – 79% compared to Hillary Clinton, who garnered 20% of the vote.

- Christal Hayes

Sanders: Despite odds, 'we’re going to win the Democratic nomination'

Sen. Bernie Sanders told supporters in Vermont that despite the odds, he would win the Democratic nomination for president.

After seeing a number of states tonight go to rival Vice President Joe Biden, Sanders started off his speech in Vermont noting that he’s used to races where people have written him off.

“When we began this race for the presidency, everybody said it couldn't be done,” he said. “But tonight, I tell you with absolute confidence we’re going to win the Democratic nomination and we are going to defeat the most dangerous president in the history of this country.”

Throughout his speech, Sanders said it was his movement that was “best positioned” to take on Trump. He noted the differences between him, Biden and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He hit Biden, who has taken the lead in the national delegate count, on supporting the war in Iraq.

“You cannot beat Trump with the same old same old kind of politics,” the Vermont senator told the crowd, which was filled with supporters waving white and blue campaign signs.

- Christal Hayes

Trump: Bloomberg ‘biggest loser’ on Super Tuesday

President Donald Trump has declared a Super Tuesday loser: Mike Bloomberg.

“The biggest loser tonight, by far, is Mini Mike Bloomberg,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “His ‘political’ consultants took him for a ride. $700 million washed down the drain, and he got nothing for it but the nickname Mini Mike, and the complete destruction of his reputation. Way to go Mike!”

Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor who staked his campaign on Super Tuesday, has yet to win a single state. But he’ll always have American Samoa, his only win of the night so far.

Trump also went after Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, calling her the night’s other loser.

“Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ Warren, other than Mini Mike, was the loser of the night,” he tweeted. “She didn’t even come close to winning her home state of Massachusetts. Well, now she can just sit back with her husband and have a nice cold beer!”

- Michael Collins

Tulsi Gabbard: 'We're still here'

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii has something to say to any media reports that the Democratic presidential race is down to just four candidates: “We’re still here.”

As polls started to close on Super Tuesday, the Democratic presidential candidate Gabbard kicked off a town hall at the Eastern Market in Detroit.

Gabbard said she saw reports that the race was down to four candidates.

“Daring to speak the truth is my crime and I have no regrets for it,” she said.

Gabbard sought to connect with the day-to-day concerns of Michiganders as Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts hosted an event nearby Tuesday evening.

Gabbard’s mom was one of those Michiganders, she noted as she kicked off the evening. She pointed out her mom, Carol Gabbard, clad in Tulsi Gabbard gear in the back of the venue.

Her mom grew up in Grand Rapids and attended the University of Michigan before the candidate’s father “swept her off her feet,” Gabbard told the crowd to cheers.

- Darcie Moran, Detroit Free Press

Bloomberg has more delegates than Elizabeth Warren

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has only won a single contest so far in Super Tuesday, but he has still managed to amass more delegates from the night’s races than Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Bloomberg currently has 18 delegates total pledged from American Samoa, Colorado, Tennessee, and Texas.

Warren, on the other hand, has 17 delegates total pledged from Iowa and Massachusetts, which she represents in the Senate.

-Nicholas Wu

Biden wins Minnesota, Arkansas

Biden has won Minnesota, the day after hometown Sen. Amy Klobachur dropped out of the race and endorsed him.

Sanders won the state in 2016, when it was a caucus rather than a primary, by 23 points.

Biden also won Arkansas, giving the former vice president a sweep of the southern states that have voted thus far, including South Carolina, where his commanding win on Saturday launched his comeback.

Arkansas, where 31 delegates are at stake, was earlier declared a toss-up between Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, but the former vice president edged out the Vermont independent, respectively.

About a dozen supporters gathered at Elsie’s Restaurant Bar & Bowling Center in Minneapolis to watch returns trickle on a big-screen television. The quiet event initially drew about as many members of the media as Biden supporters but grew as the night went on, becoming more boisterous as the race was called in Biden's favor.

Several of the people who had gathered said they had been Klobuchar supporters. She dropped out of the race on Monday.

“I was sad and disappointed but not shocked, because she’s smart and strategic and I know she wants the best chance to beat Donald Trump,” said Erin Zamoff, a 49-year-old Edina resident. “Amy was my girl, so I was sad. But I love Joe and I’m fully on board.”

- Brianne Pfannenstiel, Courtney Subramanian

At Biden watch party, ‘who doesn't love a good comeback story?’

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Marc Broklawski is excited for Biden. He can feel the momentum-changing, and there aren't "any polls that can measure his heart."

"Being the underdog doesn't hurt. Who doesn't love a good comeback story? That's been the story of his life," said Broklawski, a DNC member in Virginia.

As the night continued at a Biden watch party at a local café, cheers and chants grew louder as results came in. Biden won Virginia and other southern states, and his supporters were already eyeing the convention.

"What a night," said Dorothy McAuliffe, the former first lady of Virginia. Her husband, Democrat Terry McAuliffe, came out in support of Biden in recent days.

"This is going to be a great night, but we've got a long way to go until November," she said.

Broklawski is confident and says he feels a coalescing around Biden will help in the general election.

"Virginia led the way after Trump,” he said of the 2018 midterm election. “And it will lead the way to defeat Trump.”

- Ryan Miller

Biden wins Oklahoma, Tennessee

Joe Biden has won Democratic presidential primaries in Oklahoma and Tennessee.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders won Oklahoma's Democratic primary in 2016 against Hillary Clinton.

Deadly overnight tornadoes delayed the start of Super Tuesday presidential primary voting in Nashville and another Tennessee county, spurring elections officials to redirect voters from some polling places to alternate locations.

In a state where Republicans hold every major elected office, including seven of the nine congressional seats, the Democratic primary voting base has a history of being more moderate than that of other states.

Biden has also won Alabama, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Virginia. Bernie Sanders has won Vermont and Colorado.

Sanders wins Colorado

Sen. Bernie Sanders has won Colorado, his second win of the night.

During his 2016 run, Sanders won the state with 59% of the vote compared to Hillary Clinton’s 40%.

The state carries a total of 67 delegates and Sanders’ win will allow him to take a sizable chunk.

Former Vice President Joe Biden has taken home wins so far in four states so far this evening, including Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama and Oklahoma.

- Christal Hayes and Associated Press

Sanders to supporters: ‘Stay in line’

As reports of hours-long lines at polling places in California and Texas begin to take over Super Tuesday coverage, Sen. Bernie Sanders has a message for his supporters: Stick it out.

“Every vote matters,” Sanders posted on Twitter, one of his only messages Tuesday aimed at events taking place in real-time. “If you’re in line at the polls, stay in line!”

The conventional wisdom has it that high turnout, particularly in California, would be beneficial for Sanders, who came into Super Tuesday with a lead in polling.

Early returns showed a tight race in Texas, which is shaping up to be a pivotal state for Super Tuesday. Polls closed at 9 p.m. in that state.

Long lines were still be reported at Los Angeles County voting centers at dusk amid reports of balloting machines breaking and other problems in the first test of a revamped election system in California's largest county.

"It's a mess," said one voter, Scott Bowles, a former USA TODAY reporter who waited for a half-hour in a line in Van Nuys, a section of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley, only to be told that the voting machines had busted.

After years of seeing more voters casting absentee ballots by mail, the county banished neighborhood polling stations in favor of the centers. The county instituted early voting, but cut the number of places to cast a ballot from about 4,500 to less than 1,000.

At the same time, the county got rid of the old voting machines that used an ink stylus to mark a paper ballot in favor of high-tech machines with digital readout screens that assist voters in multiple languages. Unlike the old machines, the new ones need to be plugged into electric sockets -- which would prove to be a problem.

The county has about 5.4 million registered voters, more than the electorates of 42 states, the registrar-recorder's office says.

- John Fritze

Bloomberg tells his supporters he will continue competing in the race

Speaking to supporters in West Palm Beach, Fla., former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he would continue pressing onward in the Democratic primary race.

“No matter how many delegates we win tonight, we have done something no one thought was possible," he said, to applause from his supporters. “In just three months, we’ve gone from 1% in the polls to being a contender for the Democratic nomination.”

Despite massive spending on staffing and advertising in the Super Tuesday states, Bloomberg had only won a single contest so far – the caucuses in the territory of American Samoa, which will award him at least 4 delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

By contrast, California, the largest Super Tuesday state, will divide its 415 total pledged delegates among the candidates.

- Nicholas Wu

Voting problems

Kristen Clarke, president of Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said there were poll closures and delayed openings in Texas counties including Dallas, Travis and Tarrant.

“These closures and delays led to extended wait times for voters,” she said. “In addition, the secretary of state’s web site, which is used for checking voter registration was down for a large period of the day.”

Erica Bernal-Martinez, chief operating officer of NALEO Educational Fund, said extraordinarily long wait times were reported across California, a reflection of large turnout without enough voting machines at polling places.

“In Los Angeles County in particular, at two locations there have been reports of wait lines as high as 3 hours, primarily because of the small number of machines and the small locations,” Bernal-Martinez said.

Kathay Feng, executive director of Common Cause of California, said election officials were using a new system for electronically checking voter registration and for marking ballots, which created voting delays.

“At the same time that there is extremely high voter turnout, people are able to ask for same-day registration, people are able to request party registration change and to indicate that they want crossover voting,” Feng said. Those requests are “causing extreme delays,” she said, reported at 45 to 90 minutes.

- Bart Jansen

Biden poised for big night after Southern state wins

Joe Biden’s blowout in South Carolina, it turns out, was no fluke.

After being counted out for weeks, the former vice president picked up rapid wins in two southern states: Virginia, North Carolina and Alabama, suggesting his win on Saturday was an indication of a potential shift taking place in the race for the Democratic nomination.

So far, Biden has won only two states. It’s the opening moments of a marathon night of 14 states nationwide. But the early projections – the cable networks made their announcements before any votes were counted – was an indication Biden had a wide lead in exit polls.

“It feels good,” Biden said when confronted with reporters at a restaurant in California. “I think we’re going to do well in some other states."

Part of Biden’s advantage was among African American voters, which helped his performance across southern states.

Blacks traditionally account for about 60% of South Carolina’s Democratic vote, and Biden was supported by about 3 in 5, compared to 1 in 5 for Sanders, according to CNN exit polling. Political experts said South Carolina could foreshadow other states with large black populations, including North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama and Tennessee.

In Virginia, Biden got 63% of the black vote compared to 18% for Sanders, according to CNN’s exit poll.

In CNN exit polling, Biden led Sanders among black voters in Virginia by 63% to 18%, in North Carolina by 63% to 16%, in Alabama 72% to 12% and in Tennessee 62% to 18%.

As good as the early signs are Biden, they were just as troubling for former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who staked his entire campaign on Super Tuesday. Bloomberg spent $539 million on advertising through Thursday, with a significant investment in Virginia.

The big prizes on Super Tuesday are California and Texas.

Polling averages at FiveThirtyEight.com suggested that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was supported by twice as many respondents as Biden. But Biden was shown neck-and-neck with Sanders in polling averages in Texas, and racking up wins in some of the smaller states he could cement the narrative that the contest for the nomination is between Biden and Sanders.

Dave Wasserman, who tracks elections for the non-partisan Cook Political Report, said if Biden could avoid losing California and Texas by more than single digits, that he could build an insurmountable lead in delegates.

- Bart Jansen

Bloomberg underperforms in Virginia and North Carolina

Preliminary results from Virginia and North Carolina showed Bloomberg underperforming despite massive investments in staffing and advertising in the states.

Larry Sabato, the director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said Bloomberg might not even clear the 15% threshold to secure any delegates in the state – a potential “embarrassment,” he wrote on Twitter.

“A hint to say bye-bye?” he quipped. Some Democrats have called on him to drop out of the race as former Vice President Joe Biden has surged back into the race.

In North Carolina, which the Associated Press had called for Biden, Bloomberg was set to pick up at least one of the state’s 110 pledged delegates.

In Virginia alone, the Bloomberg campaign had opened 7 field offices and hired over 80 staffers to canvass the state, which was also bombarded with millions in dollars of advertising, mostly on radio and television.

The former New York City mayor was projected to win the territory of American Samoa, his first win of the night that will award him at least four pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

-Nicholas Wu

Biden continues Southern streak with a win in Alabama

Joe Biden continued his surge in the Southern states on Tuesday, racking up another victory in Alabama after he was earlier declared the winner in North Carolina, which has 110 delegates on offer, and Virginia, which has 99 delegates.

The former vice president was forecasted for an overwhelming win Alabama, which has 52 delegates, according to an analysis by FiveThirtyEight. In 2016 Hillary Clinton defeated current frontrunner Sen. Bernie Sanders by more than 55 points in the Cotton State, where 54% of African Americans made up the primary electorate. Her commanding lead suggested the race was Biden's to lose this time around.

Biden has argued he's the best placed Democrat to mobilize black voters at the polls, and proved his campaign strategy by winning the primary in the diverse state of South Carolina on Feb. 29. He won 48.4% of the vote and picked up 39 delegates in the Palmetto State. Sanders earned 15 delegates with 19.9% of the vote.

- Courtney Subramanian

Bloomberg wins American Samoa, his first delegates in the primary

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg won the caucuses in American Samoa - his first win of the night - according to CNN and ABC.

As a territory, Samoa does not cast any electoral votes for president in the general election, but it does play a role in the primary process by pledging 6 delegates on Super Tuesday through its caucus in the territorial capital of Pago Pago.

Networks made the projection based mostly on exit polling in the state.

Bloomberg’s campaign said it had a field office in the territory, with 7 full-time staff, and investments in radio, print, and digital advertising. Samoan Chief Fa’alagiga Nina Tua’au-Glaude, who had been a delegate for President Barack Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, endorsed Bloomberg on Monday.

Hillary Clinton won the territory’s caucuses in 2016.

Bloomberg has staked his entire campaign on Super Tuesday, betting some $500 million on the 14 states in play and ignoring the traditional starting line of Iowa and New Hampshire. One state win on its own may not be enough to propel Bloomberg into the same atmosphere as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden.

Bloomberg, a billionaire philanthropist and businessman, has been attempting to run in the same political lane as Biden, as a centrist, while touting his background as a government technocrat. Biden put a dent in that pitch last week with his blowout win in South Carolina, buoyed by heavy support from black voters.

- Nicholas Wu

Biden wins North Carolina as polls continue to close across the country

Former Vice President Joe Biden beat Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary in North Carolina, his second victory of Super Tuesday and third of the campaign, based on exit polling.

North Carolina has 110 delegates, the most available in the primary contest so far. The victory came after Biden was declared the winner of Virginia, which has 99 delegates, when the polls closed.

“It feels good and we’re feeling optimistic,” Biden said in Los Angeles after the Virginia win. “I think we’re going to do well in other states as well.”

Among the early returns Tuesday, Sanders won his home state of Vermont, which has 16 delegates.

Heading into Super Tuesday, Sanders had led in the earliest states. Sanders narrowly lost Iowa, which had 41 delegates, narrowly won New Hampshire, which had 24 delegates, and decisively won Nevada, which had 36 delegates.

But Biden’s win in larger states Tuesday on his decisive win Saturday in South Carolina, which has 54 delegates.

- Bart Jansen

North Carolina to delay results

North Carolina election officials voted unanimously to extend voting by 40 minutes on Tuesday.

The extension will also likely mean the delay of official results in the state's primary until 8:10 p.m. It's not clear whether cable news networks will announce projections or hold off until polls close.

North Carolina, which announced the delay on Twitter, had been scheduled to be the next state to close after Virginia and Vermont, at 7:30 p.m.

- John Fritze

Exit polling shows demographics of voters Virginia

According to the exit polling of Democratic voters in Virginia, 63% of black voters, who comprise 27% of the electorate, supported Biden in the state's primary, as the former vice president replicated his winning coalition from South Carolina. Biden also won among white voters, of which 43% backed him.

Super Tuesday results: Follow state-by-state results from across Super Tuesday.

White voters make up 63% of the electorate. Not enough Asian or Hispanic voters were recorded in the poll to calculate detailed breakdowns. Young voters went overwhelmingly for Sanders, though they only made up 13% of the electorate. Biden took a commanding lead among voters over 45, who made up 64% of the electorate.

Independent voters who cast ballots in Virginia's election on Super Tuesday split their vote between former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

Sanders overwhelmingly won independent voters in the state in 2016, when he was running against would-be Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

However, this year, according to exit polls, Sanders walked away with 32% while Biden received 38%.

Biden is predicted to win the entire state.

- Nicholas Wu

How races are called so early

News outlets made the call based on exit polls that showed Biden with an insurmountable lead. While such polls do have a high margin of error, the difference between Biden and Sanders' was so dramatic that news organizations felt comfortable calling the race early based on those results.

Sanders wins Vermont, Biden wins Virginia

Sen. Bernie Sanders has won his home state of Vermont and former Vice President Joe Biden has won Virgini. Those announcements were made from exit polling as voting on those contests closed.

During his 2016 run, Sanders won the state by a wide margin – 86% to Hillary Clinton’s 13% – and took all of the state’s delegates.

The state carries a total of 16 delegates and is one of 14 states up for grabs tonight.

Earlier Tuesday, Sanders cast his ballot in Burlington, Vt.

“It's very nice to be back, I can tell you that,” the Vermont independent told a poll worker.

"To beat Donald Trump, we are going to need to have the largest voter turnout in the history of this country," Sanders told reporters. "We need energy. We need excitement. I think our campaign is that campaign."

A Biden watch party in Alexandria, Virginia, erupted in cheers as the news came across the screen on CNN.

Biden was in Los Angeles, Calif, at the time and celebrated his early win with supporters there.

"It feels good. I think we’re going to do well in some other states."

Recent polling had indicated Biden had an edge over his competitors, but Bloomberg poured thousands of dollars into campaigning there.

Virginia experienced its own "blue wave" last November when Democrats won control of both houses of the state's General Assembly for the first time since 1993. A Republican hasn't won a statewide race here for more than 10 years.

In 2016, the state favored Hillary Clinton over Sanders. Clinton chose Sen. Tim Kaine, who endorsed Biden, as her running mate, and many other prominent Democrats in the state, like former Gov Terry McAuliffe, backed the former vice president.

--Christal Hayes, Ryan Miller, John Fritze

Virginia, Vermont first to close polls

First up on this Super Tuesday: Vermont and Virginia.

Those two contests – one potentially competitive, the other probably not – closed at 7 p.m.

Results will take hours to come in, and sometimes projections will as well. But in other instances, the winner could be called quickly. In South Carolina, one network called former Vice President Joe Biden the winner based on exit polling seconds before the voting was over. Another called it the second polls closed.

Vermont is the home state of Sen. Bernie Sanders, giving him a significant home-field advantage.

Virginia is a state where Biden has spent a significant amount of time, and his success or failure there could be an early indicator of whether his South Carolina win was a one-off or a sign of new momentum.

Thirty minutes later, another key state closes: Alabama. That’s another close contest where Biden’s recent success in South Carolina could be a factor.

Then a large wave of states come in at 8 p.m.: Alabama, Maine, Massachusetts and Oklahoma. Tennessee had planned to close at 8 p.m. but some voting locations will stay open longer because of the deadly storms that hit the state early Tuesday.

The last state to close is California, where voting will wrap up at 11 p.m. EST. It could take days for the results in that state, however, as many voters have mailed their ballots.

- John Fritze

Money well spent?

According to preliminary exit polling in several Super Tuesday states, voters expressed unfavorable opinions of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, despite his hundreds of millions spent on outreach in Super Tuesday states. He had higher unfavorability ratings than other candidates according to the CNBC exit poll.

In California, 30% of voters approved of Bloomberg, whereas 60% disapproved. 38% approved of him in Virginia, but 58% disapproved. And in Colorado, 41% approved, whereas 52% disapproved.

Bloomberg has rejected all donations, entirely self-funding his campaign, and has spent over a half-billion dollars on advertising so far in the cycle. His campaign says he has over 2,400 staff around the country.

- Nicholas Wu

A possible warning sign for Bloomberg

Today’s voters are the first to weigh in on the campaign of former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg who has spent a record amount of his own money trying to get the Democratic nomination.

In a potentially bad sign for him, about half the Democratic primary voters in Texas and Tennessee said it’s unfair that candidates can spend unlimited amounts of their own money on their campaigns, according to early results from the NBC News Exit poll.

Tom Steyer, the other billionaire who wanted to be president, dropped out Saturday after getting no delegates in South Carolina despite outspending the field there.

Bloomberg did not compete in the first four states. He’s acknowledged that the best he can do is get a plurality – not a majority – of delegates. If no candidates gets a majority during the nominating contests, the winner will be determined at the convention.

“I don’t think I can win any other way,” Bloomberg told reporters in Florida today.

-Maureen Groppe

In Minnesota, disappointed Klobuchar supporters reassess the field

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The day after their home-state senator ended her presidential bid, many Minnesotans said they were scrambling to reassess the field as they headed to the polls on Super Tuesday.

John Berg, a 43-year-old Lutheran pastor from Woodbury, said he had planned to vote for Klobuchar because he thought she was the best match to take on Republican President Donald Trump in a general election. But when she announced Monday she would end her campaign, Berg said he decided to instead support U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

“I thought Amy had a better chance of beating Trump,” he said Tuesday after casting his ballot. “But I like Elizabeth’s policies.”

Klobuchar’s exit could leave as much as a third of the state’s Democratic primary electorate up for grabs, recent polling suggests.

A Star Tribune/MPR News Minnesota Poll conducted Feb. 17-20 showed Klobuchar leading the field with 29% to U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders' 23%. And Klobuchar’s communications director, Tim Hogan, tweeted Monday that the campaign’s internal polling pegged her support at 32% over Sanders’ at 19%.

- Brianne Pfannenstiel

Tennessee extends voting in several locations after tornado damage

A Davidson County judge Tuesday afternoon ruled that Tennessee polls can remain open until 8 p.m. CT at all sites across Nashville.

Polls were originally set to close at 8 p.m. ET. Five polling sites will remain open until 11 p.m. ET.

The ruling came at the request of four of the top Democratic presidential campaigns, along with the Tennessee Democratic Party. The groups filed suit in a Nashville court on Tuesday to extend poll times amid heavy tornado damage throughout the city. A voting-rights group had also urged Tennessee to extend Tuesday’s primary voting in areas damaged by tornadoes.

Tornadoes killed at least 22 people and shredded at least 140 buildings amid violent storms ranging from Texas to North Carolina. A tornado cut a swatch of destruction through Nashville.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee declared a state of emergency. President Donald Trump said he would visit the region Friday to review damage from the “very vicious” tornadoes.

Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, part of a consortium monitoring election security on Tuesday, urged Lee, Secretary of State Tre Hargett and elections coordinator Mark Goins to extend the period for voting.

“It is critical that all voters be provided a fair and full opportunity to vote,” Clarke said. “That is not possible for people in those parts of Tennessee that have been devastated by the tornado.”

– Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, and Adam Tamburin and Natalie Allison, Nashville Tennessean

In progressive area of Northern Virginia, it’s mostly Sanders or Warren — and definitely not Trump

Alexandria, Va. — Lindsay Robinson, 34, said she voted for Warren because the Massachusetts senator “has a plan for everything.”

“She’s smart. She’s capable,” Robinson said.

But with recent results and other candidates exiting the race and throwing their support behind Biden, she is worried that Warren may drop out, too.

“It’d be a shame if we beat Trump only to put someone in who does not do great things,” Robinson said.

What started as a damp Super Tuesday turned sunny by late afternoon in northern Virginia, where pre-election day polling showed Biden, Bloomberg and Sanders nearing the top of the pack for the most Democratic votes. For many voters here, the issue of beating Trump in the general election is at the front of mind, but they also expressed support for a candidate with a progressive policy agenda.

Most voters who spoke with USA TODAY at the polling location in the suburb of Washington, D.C., supported Sanders or Warren, but Biden still had a strong support. One voter, who didn’t give her name, learned from a reporter after she had already voted that the candidate she backed, Buttigieg, dropped out over the weekend.

For some progressive voters, concern comes over their faces at the mention of Bloomberg. “I’ll vote blue no matter who,” says Annette Licitra, 62, “but (Warren) comes closest to representing my values.”

Jackie Camerlinck, 53, is a teacher and said she supports Sanders because “I think we need more than just another Obama.”

She likes Sanders over the other candidates because of he backs Medicare for All, among other issues. She’s also thinking about what his cabinet would look like were he to be elected president.

“He’s going to put someone in charge of (the Department of Education) who has experience being a teacher,” she said.

Kris Patton, 46, also likes Sanders, but it took her some time trying to narrow down all the candidates to make up her mind. She liked Klobuchar, but knew Bloomberg wasn’t for her. Warren made too many judgment errors, like attacking Sanders, she said. And with Biden, “I don’t want to say he’s out of touch, but maybe 15 years ago he was the right person.”

However, Biden supporters said the former vice president is a better bet to beat Trump.

“I want some newness. I’m tired of the bad stuff … that Trump is doing,” said Teresa Diggs, 61. Diggs, a teacher for more than 30 years, said healthcare is the most important issue for her as she nears retirement, and she’s always known Biden is the candidate for her.

“I want what’s best for our country, and that’s Joe Biden,” she said.

-- Ryan Miller

Donald Trump can't stop commenting on the Super Tuesday Democrats

President Donald Trump happily weighed in on Democratic race throughout this Super Tuesday – even during a coronavirus briefing at the National Institutes of Health.

"Well, it's going to be a very interesting evening of television," Trump said at NIH when a reporter asked him about the Democratic primaries. "I think it's really going to be something."

Trump said it looks to him that Joe Biden "has come up a little bit," and repeated his claim that Democrats are somehow conspiring to deny the presidential nomination to Bernie Sanders.

"I don't know if that's fair, but I guess it's politics," Trump said. "When you get right down to it: What's fair?"

Trump also said he doesn't care who the Democrats put up against it: "I'll take anybody I have to. That's the way it is going to work. Doesn't matter."

The president's campaign comments echoed those he made to reporters when he left the White House for the NIH.

Trump also tweeted out some Super Tuesday thoughts in the early morning, though most of those comments dealt with a third potential opponent: Michael Bloomberg.

"Mini Mike Bloomberg can never recover from his incompetent debate performances," he said in one tweet.

-- David Jackson

Hoyer declines to join Clyburn in saying Sanders would wreak 'carnage' on Democrats as nominee

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., declined to characterize the impact that Democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders would have on Congress, but he told reporters Tuesday that House leaders hoped to expand their Democratic majority in the fall.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., warned last week of “down ballot carnage,” with Democrats in more conservative states losing seats, if Sanders becomes the nominee to challenge President Donald Trump. Clyburn endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden.

But Hoyer said the Maryland primary isn’t until April 28 and he didn’t want to characterize a Sanders nomination. House leaders are focused on expanding their majority, he said.

“I think our incumbents are extraordinarily strong, have been very successful in their initial year-plus in the Congress. And so, we're going to be working very hard on that,” Hoyer said. “And we, of course, want to make sure that the top of the ticket as well is elected because we want to defeat Trump.”

Asked if the top of the ticket was important, Hoyer said it was. But he said the field should narrow by the end of April and that the party would unite behind the nominee.

“The top of the ticket is very important. And I'm saying that I hope we have a person at the top of the ticket who can strengthen the candidacies of our candidates,” Hoyer said. “And all the candidates have said they will support the nominee of the party, again, on the premise that Trump is not an acceptable alternative.”

- Bart Jansen

Hillary Clinton: Sanders would not be the 'strongest' nominee

Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said Tuesday in a television interview she believed Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., would not be the "strongest" nominee against President Donald Trump.

In an ABC News Live interview segment to be aired in full later tonight, Clinton said, "I don't think he'd be our strongest nominee, no. That's what this primary process is about," when asked about former Vice President Joe Biden's argument that Sanders would not beat Trump.

Clinton, who lost to Trump in the 2016 presidential election but won the popular vote, said the "most important issue is who can defeat Donald Trump."

- Nicholas Wu

Minnesota website briefly redirected to pro-Warren group

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Some Minnesota voters trying to look up their polling location on the nonpartisan secretary of state’s website were briefly redirected to the website of a progressive group that has backed Sen. Elizabeth Warren for president, stoking concerns among some Republicans.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. in Minnesota as Super Tuesday voting gets underway.

In a statement, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said his office’s website, which helps voters find their polling location, was down for a short amount of time early Tuesday.

“Our policy in the event of technical issues is that voters are redirected to find their information via the designated backup, Google’s nonpartisan Voting Information Project,” he said. “In an urgent attempt to restore service, a staff person diverged from our emergency plan and, in a serious lapse of judgment, linked to a partisan website that contained polling place information.”

Live Super Tuesday results:Get up-to-date primary results

The incident was first reported by the Star-Tribune.

The partisan website was for the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has endorsed Warren and advocates for “bold progressive” policies.

“The moment this error was discovered, we corrected the link,” Simon said in the statement. “The link in question was active for approximately 17 minutes.”

Republican state Rep. Jim Nash criticized Simon’s office, saying in a statement that it showed “an astonishing lack of judgment by the Secretary of State’s office.”

“While I appreciate the preparations Secretary Simon has made to ensure voters can find their polling place in the event the state website is overloaded, this organization is an inappropriate source for our elections office to be utilizing,” he said.

– Brianne Pfannenstiel, Des Moines Register

Coronavirus fears caused staffing issues at Texas voting locations

AUSTIN, Texas – The Travis County, Texas, clerk’s office said fears of catching the new coronavirus are causing chaos at voting locations across the county at the start of Super Tuesday.

Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir said 11 people, including judges who were responsible for opening some of the 175 polling locations across the county Tuesday, did not show up for work out of fear of catching the new coronavirus. DeBeauvoir said this was on top of the 31 judges who also said last week they would not come to operate the polls out of fear of catching the virus or another sickness.

“A significant number of election judges called up and said they quit,” DeBeauvoir said. “They had a variety of excuses. They just decided they did not want to do this and decided the news was scaring them, so last night we were on the phone with the parties trying to get more workers.”

DeBeauvoir said it usually takes six, but no less than three, judges and poll workers to operate just one polling location. The county clerk’s Office worked all morning to find replacements, however, while they were doing so other workers were also abandoning their posts once they realized there were not enough workers to open for voting.

As of 9 a.m. Tuesday, DeBeauvoir said Travis County had 164 vacancies after using up all of its emergency backup workers. However, all of the polling locations were now back open and running, according to the county clerk.

– Heather Osbourne, Austin American-Statesman

O'Rourke, Biden shared Whataburger meal before Super Tuesday

Beto O'Rourke fulfilled his promise to treat former Vice President Joe Biden to a world-class meal Monday.

The O'Rourkes and Bidens went to Whataburger in Dallas, which O'Rourke quipped was conveniently less than half a mile from where they had a rally for Biden. O'Rourke, who endorsed Biden, was one of the speakers at Biden's rally.

O'Rourke posted a video of the stop at the Whataburger on his Facebook page.

Customers applauded and were excited to see the politicians stroll into the burger place, and visit with people before ordering their burger combos. A woman said meeting them made dining at Whataburger the coolest experience.

O'Rourke and Biden:Beto O'Rourke and Joe Biden dine at Whataburger after rally

The primarily Texas-based franchise was a frequent stop for O'Rourke during his campaign on the road for president. He was even videotaped rolling into one on a skateboard.

Biden had a cheeseburger combo with fries, O'Rourke had a double meat Whataburger with no tomatoes and O'Rourke's wife Amy had her Whataburger with jalapeños.

– Maria Cortes Gonzalez, El Paso Times

Sanders draws spectacle at Vermont voting location

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., attracted a swarm of journalists as he cast his vote in his home state of Vermont on Super Tuesday.

Sanders and his wife, Jane O'Meara Sanders, voted near their home in Burlington's New North End neighborhood about 10:25 a.m.

"It's very nice to be back, I can tell you that," Sanders said to a poll worker. Reporters holding notebooks, microphones and television cameras filled the polling place, held back by election officials from getting too close.

After voting, Sanders gave a short speech to assembled journalists.

"You've increased the GDP of Vermont by 16%. We appreciate it," Sanders joked to the crowd.

Sanders voting in Vermont:Bernie Sanders attracts media spectacle while voting in Burlington

National and foreign journalists pressed in to listen, smothering the lawn of the Robert Miller Community and Recreation Center, beating the ground into mud and climbing on snowbanks to get a better view.

"To beat Donald Trump, we are going to need to have the largest voter turnout in the history of this country," Sanders said. "We need energy. We need excitement. I think our campaign is that campaign."

– April Barton and April McCullum, Burlington Free Press

Ex-FBI Director Comey backs Biden

Former FBI Director James Comey, whose 2017 firing by President Donald Trump in part triggered an investigation into Russian election interference, wrote in a tweet Tuesday that he is backing former Vice President Joe Biden for president.

Comey's tweet comes on Super Tuesday, when roughly a third of the Democratic delegates are up for grabs as 14 states and one U.S. territory cast primary ballots.

"Voted in first Dem primary to support party dedicated to restoring values in WH. I agree with @amyklobuchar: We need candidate who cares about all Americans and will restore decency, dignity to the office. There is a reason Trump fears @joebiden and roots for Bernie. #Biden2020," Comey's tweet read.

Biden's campaign didn't exactly embrace Comey's support.

"Yes, customer service? I just received a package that I very much did not order. How can I return it, free of charge?" read a tweet from Biden spokesman Andrew Bates, just minutes after Comey issued his tweet.

Fatal tornadoes delay Super Tuesday voting in parts of Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Super Tuesday voting started an hour late in Nashville and nearby Wilson County, Tennessee, due to extensive tornado damage across the region.

Polls in those locations will now open at 8 a.m. CST, according to the Tennessee secretary of state. They will still close as scheduled at 7 p.m. CST.

Nashville election officials announced several alternate polling sites to accommodate the damage.

The tornado, spawned from a deadly Middle Tennessee storm, touched down in Nashville early Tuesday morning, carving a path of destruction for miles across the city.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said that nine people had died in the storms in a news conference Tuesday morning. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said tornadoes hit more than 40 buildings.

Voting locations in Alabama were also affected by tornadoes. Poll workers outside Birmingham were forced to seek shelter as they began opening doors to voters. The storm knocked out electricity and downed trees, but the precinct's two voting machines had battery backups.

Voting in Super Tuesday, when 14 states and one U.S. territory cast their primary ballots, began early Tuesday morning, with voters heading to the polls across the country. Super Tuesday is a decisive day for the 2020 presidential primary because roughly a third of the delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination are up for grabs.

– Adam Tamburin, Tennesseean; Associated Press

Biden faces a big Super Tuesday test with Latino voters

Joe Biden’s chances of staying competitive with Bernie Sanders after Super Tuesday may rest on whether he can broaden his support with Hispanic voters who have so far gravitated overwhelmingly toward the Vermont senator.

In California and Texas, the two biggest prizes in the bonanza of Super Tuesday contests, about 30% of eligible voters are Latino.

Recent polls taken before Biden’s big win in South Carolina Saturday show Sanders has nearly three times the support among Latino Democrats in California as Biden and a 12 percentage-point lead over Biden with Latino Democrats in Texas.

Biden's Super Tuesday test:Biden faces big test with Latino voters on Super Tuesday as he seeks to cut into Sanders' strength

“Sanders is going to get a delegate lead. It’s just a question of how much,” said Kyle Kondik, an analyst at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “If Biden can accumulate support and prevent Sanders’ support among Hispanics from going up as candidates drop out, then it becomes more doable.”

– Maureen Groppe, Rebecca Morin, John C. Moritz and Rebecca Plevin

Just how important is Super Tuesday

About a third of the delegates needed to secure the Democratic presidential nomination are up for grabs in the voting bonanza known as Super Tuesday.

To put it in perspective, there were 155 pledged delegates available in the race's first four contests, which were the obsession of the candidates, voters, pundits and political prognosticators for the month of February. On Super Tuesday, 1,344 delegates are for the taking – as well as 13 delegates representing Americans abroad, who have a week to vote beginning Tuesday.

Super Tuesday:A state-by-state breakdown of what to watch for on Super Tuesday, where 15 contests are up for grabs

If a candidate can secure 1,991 or more of the 3,979 delegates available in all the primary contests before the Democratic National Convention on July 13, the nomination is theirs.

Those numbers help explain why billionaire media mogul Mike Bloomberg decided to skip Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina to focus his half-billion-dollar advertising blitz on the March 3 states.

– William Cummings

Welcome to Super Tuesday

WASHINGTON – Super Tuesday is finally upon us.

Fourteen states and one U.S. territory will be voting Tuesday, accounting for more than 30% of the delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination.

And what a wild few days it has been.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is looking to continue his momentum after a blowout win in South Carolina Saturday. Also working in his favor? Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former mayor Pete Buttigieg, both seen as competitors for more centrist voters, have dropped out since Saturday, and thrown their support behind the former vice president.

Live Super Tuesday Results:Follow live results from all of the Super Tuesday contests

But Biden faces an uphill battle against Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has been the frontrunner thus far in the campaign. Sanders leads the national delegate race and also leads polling in several key states, including California and Texas — two of the largest states with the most delegates up for grabs. Sanders has campaigned heavily in those states since winning the Nevada caucuses.

More:A state-by-state breakdown of what to watch for on Super Tuesday

More:Democrats need a diverse coalition to win in November. Is a nearly all-white field hurting that prospect?

Biden, however, focused much of his campaign efforts in South Carolina. He is now playing catch up with Sanders and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who opted out of competing in the early voting states to focus on Super Tuesday states. But Bloomberg has yet to win a single national delegate and was attacked harshly by his fellow candidates in two recent debates.

California primary:How the Golden State vote could make — or break — presidential hopefuls left standing

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is also looking to make a splash, after slowly losing momentum over the past several weeks. She placed third in Iowa first-in-the-nation caucuses, but hasn't placed in the top 3 since. But Warren has repeatedly said her campaign is built for the long haul and she might be looking to ride the race out until the convention in July.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard also remains in the race, though she has not won any delegates thus far and is polling in the low single digits.