Joe Biden has won the battleground state of North Carolina, the third most important prize on Super Tuesday in terms of delegates and electoral college votes.

Following his landslide victory in South Carolina over the weekend, a win that threw a lifeline to his presidential campaign and saw a major consolidation of moderates, with Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, the former vice president won its sister state as well.

In terms of delegates and electoral college votes, North Carolina is the third most important prize up for grabs on Super Tuesday, following California and Texas.

While Mr Sanders is expected to win California and is polls suggest Texas will be a closely fought affair, Mr Biden had always been projected to win North Carolina, which also has a large American American population.

Ahead of Super Tuesday, an average of polls collated by RealClearPolitics gave Mr Biden a lead of almost 30 points in North Carolina.

The New York Times reported that cheers of “North Carolina!” Broke out as Mr Biden made the rounds at a chicken and waffles shop in Los Angeles, as supporters applauded.

It said he was heard to say to one of the crowd: “I don’t want to jinx myself.”