Billionaire Mike Bloomberg said his campaign has “achieved something no one else thought was possible” after winning his first Democratic primary delegates — in the territory of American Samoa.

The victory gave the former mayor of New York, who has spent more than half a billion dollars of his own money in his bid for the nomination, his first delegates of the primary race.

"No matter how many we win tonight, we have done something no one else thought was possible," he said, touting his rise from “one percent in the polls to being a contender for the Democratic nomination for president."

But even as he celebrated his first delegates on Super Tuesday, the key states targeted by Bloomberg’s campaign provided less than hopeful results.

Despite spending more than $17 million on television advertising alone in North Carolina, and building a significant ground game, Bloomberg is projected to finish third in the state behind Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.

Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Show all 29 1 /29 Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states An anti-dairy protester is led away after storming the stage at Joe Biden's Super Tuesday event in Los Angeles, California EPA Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Supporters of Bernie Sanders cheer as results are announced at a Super Tuesday party in Texas AFP/Getty Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Supporters of Joe Biden hold up an election pooster from Barack Obama's 2008 run at a Super Tuesday event for the Democratic contender Reuters Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Bernie Sander takes to the stage before supporters during his Super Tuesday event in Vermont EPA Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Supporters of Bernie Sanders cheer as results are announced at a Super Tuesday party in Texas AFP/Getty Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Supporters of Bernie Sanders cheer as results are announced at a watch party in Texas AFP/Getty Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Joe Biden gestures to suppporters at a Super Tuesday event for the Democratic contender AP Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Elizabeth Warren waves to supporters at a rally in Michigan as results come in following Super Tuesday Getty Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states A spray painted mural of presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders on the side of a building in Kirby, Vernont EPA Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Supporters of Bernie Sandes cheer at a Super Tuesday rally in Vermont Getty Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Supporters of Elizabeth Warren hold sings and cheer in Cambridge Getty Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren leaves the voting booth at the Graham & Parks School in Cambridge, Massachusetts Getty Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states A poster for sale at a rally for Bernie Sanders on Super Tuesday in Vermont Getty Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Democratic voter Elliot Zaagman wears a protective mask as he poses for a photo after casting his ballot in Bangkok, Thailand EPA Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Daisy, a Golden Retriever, outside a polling in San Diego. 1,357 Democratic delegates are at stake as voters cast their ballots in 14 states and American Samoa on what is known as Super Tuesday Getty Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (greets fellow voters after casting his ballot in his state's primary election at the Robert Miller Community Center in Burlington, Vermont Getty Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states A first time voter stands behind a voting booth in a polling location for the North Carolina primary Reuters Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg takes part in his Super Tuesday night rally in West Palm Beach, Florida Reuters Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Fourteen states are holding their primaries with more than one third of the total pledged delegates in the Democratic primaries to be awarded on Super Tuesday Getty Images Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren and her husband Bruce Mann greet supporters as they walk to a polling site to vote on Super Tuesday in Cambridge, Massachusett EPA Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Voters cast their ballots at a polling location inside an elementary school on Super Tuesday in Minneapolis, Minnesota EPA Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Democrat Jamie Wilson displays a sticker after voting in the Super Tuesday primary at John H. Reagan Elementary School in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Tuesday, March 3, 2020. (AP Photo/LM Otero) LM Otero AP Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Democratic voter Le'ana Freeman poses for a photo after casting her ballot at a polling station in Bangkok EPA Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Voters arrive to cast their ballots at a polling location inside Hunter House at Nottoway Park in Vienna EPA Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Democrat Jamie Wilson gets a sticker after voting in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas AP Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states A Polling Place sign in the border town of Hidalgo, Texas EPA Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states A girl carries her mothers ballot to the table where she will fill in her choice at the Taylor Elementary School polling location in Arlington Getty Images Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states A man wearing an 'I Voted' sticker and a 'Bernie Abroad' badge after voting in the American presidential primary in Oxford, England Getty Images Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Stickers for people who vote AFP via Getty Images

One campaign aide blamed the former mayor’s poor performance in his debut debate in Las Vegas last month.

"This isn’t going as planned," a campaign adviser told CNN’s Jeff Zeleny. "Things changed after Las Vegas debate and never recovered."

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In Virginia, too, the signs were bad. Bloomberg has a long history of spending heavily in Virginia politics, giving millions to help elect Democratic candidates over the years. His campaign has flooded the airwaves with television commercials in the past few months, and he has visited some seven times.

But that effort has shown little reward so far, with polling currently placing him in fourth place with 9.5 percent.

Despite the disappointing early results, campaign manager Kevin Sheekey told reporters that Bloomberg was “absolutely” not dropping out.