Super Tuesday: Biden races ahead of Sanders with big wins

Joe Biden is racing ahead of rival Bernie Sanders as polling closes in the first states of the Super Tuesday Democratic primaries.

The former vice president is projected to win in the states of Virginia, North Carolina and Alabama. Two of these states, Virginia and North Carolina offer a relatively large number of delegates; 99 and 110, while 52 delegates are at stake in Alabama. 

Sanders won his home state of Vermont, exit polls showed.

Mike Bloomberg won his first primary in the US territory of American Samoa, securing four delegates.

Read more: Super Tuesday – a ‘how to’ guide to the 2020 US primary elections

With exit polls out for four states, Biden is now the frontrunner in the race for the Democratic nomination. Sanders, who was leading until Tuesday, is now at second place. 

Results of the primaries

• Alabama — Joe Biden projected to win
• Arkansas — None yet.
• California — None yet.
• Colorado — None yet.
• Maine — None yet.
• Massachusetts — None yet.
• Minnesota — None yet.
• North Carolina — Joe Biden projected to win
• Oklahoma — None yet.
• Tennessee — None yet.
• Texas — None yet.
• Utah — None yet.
• Vermont — Bernie Sanders projected to win.
• Virginia — Joe Biden projected to win.
• American Samoa — Mike Bloomberg wins.

Bernie Sanders was leading the race for the Democratic nomination until Tuesday

With about one third of delegates up for grabs – more than any other primary day – Super Tuesday is seen as a defining moment for Democratic candidates vying for nomination.

Read more: Democrats prepare for Super Tuesday results

A candidate must have at least 1,991 delegates to win the Democratic nomination. Until Tuesday, Senator Bernie Sander was the clear frontrunner in the race with 60 delegates from previous primaries and caucuses. 

Others candidates hoping for a boost, particularly from the delegate-rich California and Texas, are Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, former New York city Mayor Mike Bloomberg, and Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.

Joe Biden received a much-needed boost after his victory in South Carolina.

Divided among Democrats

Super Tuesday, much like the previous primaries, will be seen as a contest between the progressives and the moderates within the Democratic party. Sanders and Warren are both considered progressives while Biden and Bloomberg represent the moderate section of the party. Elizabeth Warren has been making the case for herself as the alternate progressive candidate. Biden, on the other side, has been consolidating the moderate vote with endorsements from former democratic candidates.

adi/aw (AP, Reuters, AFP)

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