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Super Tuesday 2020: Joe Biden caps comeback with Texas win; Bernie Sanders claims California

Joe Biden has staged a dramatic revival in the Democratic presidential race, overtaking Bernie Sanders as the party frontrunner | RESULTS

Cameron Stewart, Anne Barrowclough and Tom Crystal
21 min read
6:32PMMarch 04, 2020.
Updated 9:03PMMarch 04, 2020
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Joe Biden: "They don't call it Super Tuesday for nothing!"

Hello and welcome to The Australian’s live coverage of Super Tuesday, as voters across 14 American states from Maine to California vote on the Democratic presidential race. What we know so far:

Joe Biden has picked up wins in Texas, Arkansas, Minnesota, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Alabama and Massachusetts, while Bernie Sanders has won California, Colorado, Vermont and Utah.

Michael Bloomberg has won only American Samoa, while Elizabeth Warren is struggling to win any delegates.

Maine is the only state yet to be called.

7.47pm: Top takeaways from Super Tuesday

Exit polls showed Joe Biden assembling a winning coalition that included African-Americans, suburban voters and older voters, allowing him to argue he could best unite the party against Republican President Trump.

Bernie Sanders performed well with liberal voters and voters under age 30, exit polls showed, but his poor performance in the South showed the limits to his appeal with African-Americans and moderate voters. Mr Biden was victorious in Tennessee and Alabama, and also notched a win in Oklahoma, despite never visiting the state during his campaign.

Read more from Ken Thomas here.

6.40pm: Biden the new Democrat frontrunner

Former vice president Joe Biden scored a string of wins over leftist Bernie Sanders in the Super Tuesday contests which will pick the Democratic challenger to President Donald Trump this November, AFP reports.

Among the 14 states at play, US networks have so far projected nine wins for the centrist Biden, with his strong showing in the country’s south demonstrating the depth of his support among African-Americans.

A jubilant Joe Biden. Picture: AP
A jubilant Joe Biden. Picture: AP

Biden claimed the second biggest prize of the night in Texas though the very biggest was yet to come: delegate-rich California, where the self-described socialist Sanders is strong favourite.

Both California and Maine were still considered too close to call.

Sanders pocketed three clear victories: his home state of Vermont, and Colorado and Utah in the west.

He has lost in Minnesota and Oklahoma, where he handily defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016.

A total of 1357 delegates are at stake on Tuesday, about a third of the overall national total.

Biden, who has the backing of his party’s establishment, also appeared to have profited from the endorsements of former centrist rivals including Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg, who dropped out in the run-up to the races.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders at a rally in Vermont. Picture: AP
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders at a rally in Vermont. Picture: AP

Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg will reassess the future of his presidential campaign after a disappointing showing.

Results in the 14 nominating contests showed the billionaire businessman gaining little traction with voters.

Despite spending more than $US500 million on his campaign, Bloomberg was projected to win just American Samoa, a US territory that awards a total of six delegates.

He also picked up some delegates in Colorado and early results showed him No.2 in delegate-rich California.

AFP/AAP

6.05pm: Biden wins Texas

Joe Biden has won Texas’ Democratic presidential primary, AP reports. The state has 228 delegates at stake, the second biggest prize of the night.

More than 2 million people had already voted in Texas even before polls opened for Tuesday’s primary. The state, which has long been reliably Republican, is growing increasingly bluer amid a demographics change in Texas.

Biden held a rally in Dallas on Monday night, where he showcased two of his newest supporters and former rivals, Amy Klobuchar and Beto O’Rourke. Pete Buttigieg endorsed Biden earlier in the night in Dallas.

Biden has also won Massachusetts, Arkansas, Minnesota, Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Virginia. Bernie Sanders has won California, Utah, Vermont and Colorado.

— AP

5.50pm: Number crunch

CNN predicts that after today's results, Joe Biden will have 298 delegates in the race to 1991 and a majority heading into July’s Democratic National Convention. It estimates Bernie Sanders will end Super Tuesday with 230 delegates; Elizabeth Warren 15; Mike Bloomberg 4 and Tulsi Gabbard 1.

5.20pm: ‘Joementum’ grips primaries

For a candidate left for dead just weeks ago, Joe Biden has scored a dramatic comeback in the Democratic White House race, capped by victories over chief rival Bernie Sanders in a majority of the 14 states contested on Super Tuesday, AFP reports.

After going zero for three in the first early voting contests last month, Biden’s White House hopes were suddenly revived with early projected wins in major southern battlegrounds Virginia, North Carolina and Alabama.

He went on to score wins in Tennessee, Arkansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and rival Elizabeth Warren’s state of Massachusetts.

“They haven’t buried me yet,” the 77-year-old former vice president told ecstatic supporters in Los Angeles. “I’m here to report, we are very much alive!”

Despite being heavily outspent by Sanders and with only patchwork organisation on the ground in some states, Biden claimed what he cheekily called the “#Joementum” in a tweet.

— AFP

5pm: Shock victory in sight

As the count continues in Texas, it’s looking more and more like a surprise victory for Joe Biden. With almost three-quarters of the votes counted he leads with 31.6 per cent, while Bernie Sanders has 29.2 per cent.

4.30pm: Biden on track for big upset

Joe Biden has surged in the last big prize of the night — Texas, where Bernie Sanders was favoured to win. With about 62 per cent of the votes counted, Biden has 422,051 (30.8 per cent) to Sanders on 387,029 (28.3 per cent).

4.05pm: Tight in Texas!

Senators Biden and Sanders are now locked in a virtual tie in the key state of Texas, which has 228 delegates on offer. With about 60 per cent of votes counted, Biden has 371,357 votes (29.1 per cent), while Sanders has 366,114 (28.7 per cent). Mike Bloomberg has 17 per cent, Elizabeth Warren 11.9 per cent.

3.45pm: Bloomberg counts the cost

Mike Bloomberg is reportedly weighing up whether to continue beyond Super Tuesday after claiming just one victory — in American Samoa. Not much of a return on a campaign that has sucked up more than $US500m ($758m) of his personal wealth. It hasn’t gone unnoticed.

3.20pm: Sanders wins California

Bernie Sanders has won the biggest prize of the night: California, AP reports. The state has 415 delegates at stake, the most on the electoral map. Sanders’s campaign has long seen the nation’s most populous state as a critical early contest and has had droves of volunteers organising events across the state.

Sanders lost the 2016 Democratic presidential primary to Hillary Clinton and was hoping for a comeback that would be a capstone moment for the state’s progressive wing. Sanders has also won Utah, Vermont and Colorado.

— AP

3.15pm: Knockout blow for Warren?

Joe Biden’s win in Massachusetts, the home state of rival Elizabeth Warren, could pare down the field once more, AFP reports.

Elizabeth Warren at a Super Tuesday rally in Detroit. Picture: AP
Elizabeth Warren at a Super Tuesday rally in Detroit. Picture: AP

Warren, who along with Senator Sanders represents the progressive wing of the Democratic party, has seen her candidacy flounder after leading some national polls as recently as October.

The northeastern state she represents sends 91 delegates to the party’s convention in July and was yet another impressive win for Biden on a night that cemented his comeback following a stumbling early campaign.

Biden built a lead as 14 states voted to pick the Democratic challenger to President Donald Trump, with eight projected wins so far against three for Sanders.

— AFP

2.54pm: Biden wins Massachusetts

Joe Biden has won Massachusetts, AP reports, outpacing Elizabeth Warren in her home state. With slightly less than two-thirds of precincts reporting, Senator Biden had 34 per cent of the vote, while Senator Sanders had 27 per cent and Senator Warren was in third with 20 per cent.

The Wall St Journal

2.42pm: LA County to allow voting after polls close

Voters in Los Angeles County have been told those in line by 8pm will be able to vote after polls officially close, amid complaints of voters facing four hour lines.

Los Angeles County said it will allow all those in line by 8pm local to vote “to ensure every voter who turned out on or before the closing of the Vote Centers get the opportunity to make their voice heard.”

2.40pm: Sanders set to take Utah

AP projects Bernie Sanders will win in Utah, his third win of the night, after one third of precincts reported. Michael Bloomberg is coming second in the state.

Anne Barrowclough 2.30pm: ‘They don't call it Super Tuesday for nothing’

Joe Biden addresses supporters in Los Angeles, flanked by wife Jill (L) and sister Valerie. Picture: Pool.
Joe Biden addresses supporters in Los Angeles, flanked by wife Jill (L) and sister Valerie. Picture: Pool.

A jubilant Joe Biden has told supporters: “They don’t call it Super Tuesday for nothing,” after winning six states by late evening.

Standing next to his wife Jill, Mr Biden told a rally in Los Angeles: “It’s a good night. It’s a good night. It seems to be getting better. They don’t call it Super Tuesday for nothing.”

He added: “Those who have been knocked down, counted out, left behind. This is your campaign. Just a few days ago the press and the declared the campaign dead. And that came South Carolina. And they had something to say about it.”

2.25pm: Tech hitches slow California voting

Voters wait in a long line in Burbank, California.
Voters wait in a long line in Burbank, California.

Some voters in California have faced long lines, which in some cases were due to technology glitches, according to officials and watchdog groups.

In Los Angeles County, the electronic pollbooks — which are used to check in voters — struggled in some cases to handle the volume of voters, according to Kathay Feng, executive director of Common Cause of California, a watchdog group. The group said that some hiccups were to be expected because the county has introduced a new voting system.

The California Democratic Party sent a plea to voters Tuesday evening to stay in line since polls are open until 8pm local time. “There is still time,” according to the email. “If you are experiencing long lines at the last hour of polling, do not worry.” It reiterated that as long as voters are in line by 8pm, they will be able to vote and polling locations will remain open as long as it takes.

The Wall St Journal

2.15pm: We’re going to win: Sanders

Bernie Sanders addresses supporters in Vermont. Picture: AP.
Bernie Sanders addresses supporters in Vermont. Picture: AP.

Bernie Sanders has addressed supporters, vowing to win the Democratic nomination. Speaking in Vermont, Mr Sanders told the crowd: “You know, it’s a funny thing, 31 years ago today we won the mayor race in Burlington, Vermont. And we won that race against all of the odds. Everybody said it couldn’t be done. And when we began this race for the presidency, everybody said it couldn’t be done.

“But tonight I tell you with absolute confidence, we are going to win the Democratic nomination. And we are going to defeat the most dangerous president in the history of the country.”

2.00pm: Surge in Virginia voter turnout

A surge in voter turnout in Virginia could help Joe Biden support his claim that he can best rally the party for the November election. Picture: AFP.
A surge in voter turnout in Virginia could help Joe Biden support his claim that he can best rally the party for the November election. Picture: AFP.

Democrats looking for signs of voter engagement in their party found it in Virginia, where turnout rose an estimated 68% in the state over 2016 levels, unofficial results showed.

Turnout also looked on track to break the 2016 mark in North Carolina, if early tallies were to hold.

The big increase in Virginia turnout could help Joe Biden support his claim that he can best rally the party for the November election.

Mr. Biden won more than half the votes cast in Virginia, a substantial accomplishment in a multi-candidate field. His 700,000 votes were more than the 500,000 that Hillary Clinton won while facing only a single major opponent in 2016.

The Wall St Journal

1.55pm: Biden wins Minnesota, Arkansas

Joe Biden has won the Minnesota and Arkansas primaries taking the number of his wins to six, the Associated Press has projected. With 20% of precincts reporting, Mr. Biden had 36%, with Mr. Sanders at 32%.

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar dropped out of the presidential race on Monday and endorsed Mr. Biden.

NBC and CNN have also projected a Biden win in Oklahoma, with 37 delegates. Oklahoma is the state where Elizabeth Warren was born.

The early results indicated Mr. Biden was building off his South Carolina victory by winning in states where African-American voters make up large portions of the electorate. Still, the night’s largest delegates hauls in California and Texas remained up in the air. The crown jewel of the evening, California, with its 415 pledged delegates, might not be decided for days because of the large number of mail-in ballots.

1.45pm: States still to declare results

Utah polls are due to close at 2pm (AEDT) but we’re still waiting on results for Arkansas, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota and Texas.

1.30pm: Tough fights in Massachusetts, Texas

Of the states that have concluded voting, we’re still awaiting race calls in Arkansas, Maine, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Texas and Tennessee.

Bernie Sanders now leads in Texas, while he’s fighting it out in Maine with Joe Biden, with each at about 34% in very early results.

In Texas, which has 228 delegates, Mr Biden has the support of six in 10 black Democratic voters, but Mr Sanders is supported by more than four in 10 Hispanics, who account for just under a third of the Texas primary electorate.

In Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren is running third in her home state with about 15% of the precincts in. There, Mr. Biden has a narrow lead over Mr. Sanders for the top spot.

Wall St Journal

1.1.5pm: Results so far

Joe Biden is ahead of the race, winning Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina and Virginia.

Bernie Sanders has taken Colorado and his home state of Vermont.

Mike Bloomberg has won the territory of American Samoa, and Elizabeth Warren is yet to win a state.

Mr Biden and Mr Sanders are neck and neck in Texas and Massachusetts.

1.08pm: Sanders takes Colorado

Bernie Sanders has won Colorado’s Democratic presidential primary, his second of the night the Associated Press projected, as polls closed there. The state has 67 delegates at stake. Meanwhile NBC has called Tennessee for Mr Biden which, if correct, would be his fourth state so far, extending his southern sweep.

1.01pm: Bloomberg sets sights on Florida

Mike Bloomberg speaks at his Super Tuesday night event in West Palm Beach, Florida. Picture: Getty Images.
Mike Bloomberg speaks at his Super Tuesday night event in West Palm Beach, Florida. Picture: Getty Images.

Michael Bloomberg appears to be lowering expectations for Super Tuesday, taking to the stage at a campaign rally in Florida to tell supporters he's setting his sights on that state’s primary on March 17.

The billionaire told an enthusiastic crowd in West Palm Beach: “Winning in November starts with Florida.”

Mr Bloomberg, whose sole victory so far is in American Samoa, added: “No matter how many we win tonight, we have done something no one else thought was possible.” He said that feat was rising “from 1% in the polls to being a contender for the Democratic nomination for president.” Mr Bloomberg has spent $500 million of his own money on campaign advertising.

AP

Anne Barrowclough 12.50pm: Neck and neck in Texas

Early results in Texas show Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders neck and neck, with Mr Biden slightly ahead on 26.2 per cent against Mr Sanders’ 25.8 per cent.

The state has 228 delegates at stake.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren is going badly in her own state of Massachusetts, with 20.8 per cent of delegates against MR Biden’s 35.7 per cent and Mr Sanders at 23.4 per cent.

Anne Barrowclough 12.25pm: ‘This isn’t going as planned’

Downcast Bloomberg supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida. Picture: Getty Images.
Downcast Bloomberg supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida. Picture: Getty Images.

Losing North Carolina to Joe Biden is a blow to Michael Bloomberg, who spent over $17 million in the state on television advertising. CNN reports that Mr Bloomberg’s campaign manager Kevin Sheekey is insisting Mr Bloomberg has “absolutely no” chance of dropping out. However one adviser told the station: “This isn’t going as planned.”

Anne Barrowclough 12.05pm: Biden takes Alabama

Joe Biden talks with diner customers in Oakland, California. Picture: AP.
Joe Biden talks with diner customers in Oakland, California. Picture: AP.

Joe Biden is set to win his third primary with CNN projecting he’ll take Alabama, which has 52 delegates at stake. The win isn’t much of a surprise, showcasing Mr Biden’s support among black voters, who make up the majority of the Democratic primary electorate in the state. Hillary Clinton won this primary in 2016, when Bernie Sanders lost Alabama by nearly 60 points.

However the big prizes of Texas and California are yet to be decided.

12.00pm: Biden overcomes Bloomberg spend

Michael Bloomberg’s vast campaign spending is getting an early test on Super Tuesday.

He spent 50 times as much as former Vice President Joe Biden on radio and TV ads in Virginia, but Mr Biden won the state.

Mr Biden and his allies spent about $360,000 on television and radio ads, while Mr Bloomberg spent about $18 million according to ad tracker Kantar/CMAG.

Mr Biden’s campaign manager Greg Schultz wrote on Twitter: “Nice to get some recognition that @JoeBiden campaign has had an actual delegate STRATEGY for ten months. That is one of the reasons why we will be outspent by factors of 10 today on TV and still do really well tonight.”

As was the case in his South Carolina victory last weekend, Mr Biden’s victory in Virginia was helped by strong support by non-white voters.

Exit polls for the state published by CNN showed non-whites accounted for more than a third of the state’s Democratic primary electorate and Mr Biden won more than half of that group. Bernie Sanders was a distant second among the state’s non-whites, securing less than a quarter of that vote.

Mr Sanders won the majority of the vote among those 17 to 29 years old, while Mr Biden won about 7 out of 10 voters who were 65 or older.

The Wall St Journal

11.50am: Bloomberg wins American Samoa

Michael Bloomberg has his first win in American Samoa, which has six delegates at stake. The results were announced by the American Samoa Democratic Committee. The Bloomberg campaign has been running TV and radio ads along with print and digital advertising across the islands, CNN reports.

The billionaire had received the endorsement of Samoan Chief Fa’alagiga Nina Tua’au-Glaude ahead of Super Tuesday.

Tulsi Gabbard won her first delegate from American Samoa, with nearly 30 per cent of the vote.

Cameron Stewart 11.35am: Biden set to win N Carolina

Joe Biden’s good start to Super Tuesday continues with the former Vice President projected to have won the big prize of North Carolina, the third biggest of the 14 states going to the polls of Super Tuesday. The state has 110 delegates but they are distributed on a proportional basis.

Mr Biden has already won Virginia although his rival Bernie Sanders has won in Vermont.

The victory in North Carolina comes only days after Mr Biden scored a landslide victory in South Carolina on the back of strong support from African-American voters.

11.25am: Sanders wins Vermont

Bernie Sanders has won Vermont’s Democratic presidential primary. Vermont has 16 delegates at stake and is Mr Sanders’ home state. In 2016, Mr Sanders won more than 85% of the Democratic primary vote in the race against Hillary Clinton.

He is holding an election night rally at the Champlain Valley fairgrounds in Essex Junction.

Cameron Stewart 11.10am: Biden wins Virginia

The first results of the Super Tuesday primaries are in, with Joe Biden projected to score a big early win in Virginia, a state that offers 99 delegates to the National Convention.

The result is an important victory for Biden who was trailing in the polls in Virginia only two weeks ago.

The outcome is a blow to billionaire Michael Bloomberg who invested heavily in Virginia.

Senator Sanders is also projected to have won comfortably in his home state of Vermont.

Voters in 14 states have gone to the polls on Super Tuesday to elect a whopping 1344 delegates – one third of all delegates at stake in the presidential race.

To become the Democratic Party’s nominee, a candidate needs to win 1,991 of the party’s delegates by the Democratic National Convention in July.

10.45am: Surge in last minute picks

Many Democratic voters made up their minds just before casting a ballot according to an AP survey, in a sign of fluidity in a race up-ended by Joe Biden’s surge South Carolina. The share of late deciders ranged from about a quarter of voters in Texas to roughly half in Minnesota, according to AP’s VoteCast surveys of voters in several Super Tuesday contests. Moderate and conservative voters in each state were slightly more likely than their liberal counterparts to delay a decision to the last minute.

According to CNN, in Virginia nearly half of Democratic primary voters said that they made up their minds about whom to support in the last few days while in North Carolina, nearly three in 10 said they made up their minds in the last few days.

The indecision shows voters grappling with their choices in a race that is changing quickly.

Here’s a snapshot of Democratic voters in Alabama, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia – who they are and what matters to them – based on preliminary results from AP VoteCast surveys.

Moderates and conservatives: Moderates and conservative accounted for the majority of Democratic voters in most of the seven states, just as they have in previous contests in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Those primary voters also generally preferred a presidential candidate who would pursue practical centrist policies rather than one who would champion bold liberal policies.

But roughly half of voters, or more, in each state indicated they wanted to see a candidate who would fundamentally change how the political system works in Washington over one who would return the political system to the way it was before Donald Trump was elected.

AP

Joe Biden during a campaign stop in Oakland, California. Picture: AP.
Joe Biden during a campaign stop in Oakland, California. Picture: AP.

Anne Barrowclough 10.15am: First polls set to close

The first polls in Vermont and Virginia will start closing by 7pm ET, (11am AEDT). In Vermont, the Democratic delegates at state number 16, while in Vermont, 99 are at stake.

Let’s not forget the Republicans, which have 17 delegates at stake in Vermont and 48 in Virginia.

Anne Barrowclough 9.55am: Tornados force voting extensions

A Tennessee judge has ruled that voting will be extended past the 8pm closing time in the wake of the tornado that killed 22 people in Nashville.

The ruling came after a lawsuit was filed by the Democratic party and the four top campaigns (Joe Biden, Mike Bloomberg, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren) to extend voting after storm damage delayed opening of polls.

Anne Barrowclough 9.15am: Biden surge ‘happened so very quickly’

Students for Bernie Sanders at the University of Texas in Austin. Picture: AFP.
Students for Bernie Sanders at the University of Texas in Austin. Picture: AFP.

Bernie Sanders’ camp has admitted it was caught off guard by Joe Biden’s strong resurgence over the last couple of days as moderate support coalesced around the former vice-president.

On Monday (AEDT) Amy Klobuchar quit the race and joined Pete Buttigieg in throwing her support behind Mr Biden. He was given a further boost by endorsements from Beto O’Rourke, Hillary Clinton’s former running mate Tim Kaine, a senator in Virginia, Harry Reid, a former Senate majority leader from Nevada; and Terry McAuliffe, a former Virginia governor and party chairman.

“We always anticipated that there would be consolidation of an establishment side,” Faiz Shakir, Mr. Sanders’s campaign manager, said on Monday night. “It’s one thing to know it’s going to happen, and it’s another thing to watch it happen so very quickly.”

8.40am: Biden surge set to challenge Sanders

Joe Biden is on course to limit the anticipated strong performance by Bernie Sanders while there are signs that voters who simply want the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump aren’t flocking to Michael Bloomberg.

Mr Biden, 77, has seen his fortunes transformed by his emphatic victory in South Carolina at the weekend, with moderates beginning to coalesce around him amid fears that a big Super Tuesday win by Mr Sanders would seal the nomination for the “democratic socialist”.

Mr Biden’s surge means he’s competitive in Texas, the second largest state after California, and confident of a win in North Carolina, the third largest. Mr Sanders is expected to win comfortably in California, where the majority of delegates are on offer.

Mr Biden was given a welcome boost by endorsements from his former rivals Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg and Beto O’Rourke. Further support came from Hillary Clinton’s former running mate Tim Kaine, a senator in Virginia, which also voted yesterday; Harry Reid, a former Senate majority leader from Nevada; and Terry McAuliffe, a former Virginia governor and party chairman.

8.00am: ‘Only old white men left’

Joe Biden is enjoying a bounce from the South Carolina primary. Picture: Getty Images.
Joe Biden is enjoying a bounce from the South Carolina primary. Picture: Getty Images.

Susan Thiedt, a 68-year-old retiree in Seal Beach, California, says she did not decide until Monday who to vote for.

“All three at the top are too old,” she said. “And I’m old and I can say that.”

Finally, after Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar endorsed Mr. Biden on Monday, she decided to support the former vice president. “I think he has the greatest chance of beating Trump,” she said.

It was not a vote she was enthusiastic about casting. She called his performance in the debates “lacklustre,” and said he “seemed confused” and “came across as old and senile.”

“He’s found his fight. He’s found his voice,” she said of Mr. Biden’s recent performances. Still, she lamented that the options now — Mr. Biden, Mr. Sanders and Mr. Bloomberg — are all “old white men.”

“I don’t know what it is about this country that old white men rule,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking. I was all for Amy [Klobuchar]. She’s wonderful … And I really do like Elizabeth Warren too. It’s a crying shame that just because they’re female they don’t get … I don’t know.”

Wall St Journal

7.45am: I’m not quitting – Bloomberg

Mike Bloomberg, who has poured hundreds of millions of dollars of his own money into the race but is not expected to win any states on Super Tuesday, has rejected calls to quit to clear a path for Joe Biden.

“I have no intention of dropping out,” the billionaire told reporters in Florida, which holds its presidential primary on March 17. “We’re in it to win it.”

Asked about the prospect he’s taking crucial votes away from Joe Biden, Mr Bloomberg bristled. “Joe’s taking votes away from me. Have you asked Joe when he’s going to drop out?” he responded.

But he seemed to acknowledge the political headwinds he faces, when asked what states he needs to win to consider the day a success.

“I don’t know whether you gotta win any. You don’t have to win states, you have to win delegates,” he said.

The businessman suggested no one would come out of the primary with a majority of the delegates, and “then you go to a convention, and then we’ll see what happens”.

Meanwhile socialist Bernie Sanders and his wife, Jane, cast their ballots at a polling station in his home town of Burlington, Vermont.

“To beat Donald Trump, we are going to need to have the largest voter turnout in the history of this country,” the 78-year-ld told reporters.

“We need energy. We need excitement. I think our campaign is that campaign.”

AAP

7.40am: Biden buoyant as polls open

Joe Biden is spending the day in California, and plans to hold a Super Tuesday rally in Los Angeles as polls close. The former vice president, buoyed by his success in the South Carolina primary, is hoping to halt the momentum of frontrunner Bernie Sanders

“Today’s the day!” tweeted the 77-year-old, who is making his third bid for the White House after failed runs in 1988 and 2008.

“Make sure to get out and vote,” said Mr Biden, tweeting a post from former candidate Beto O’Rourke supporting him.

AAP

Who to watch

The three big name nominations are socialist Bernie Sanders, the moderate former vice-president Joe Biden and billionaire Mike Bloomberg, whose name is going on the ballot for the first time in the race.

If Senator Sanders pulls off a decisive victory, he will be all but unstoppable to win the party’s nomination, becoming the most left-wing presidential candidate in US history.

Eyes will also be on Joe Biden, to see if the bounce he enjoyed from his South Carolina primary win will be big enough to keep him within striking distance of his main rival.

Thirdly, we will learn whether Mr Bloomberg is able to translate his $US400m-plus advertising campaign into a large-enough number of votes to claim the role of challenger to Mr Sanders.

Bernie Sanders votes in Burlington, Vermont. Picture: AFP.
Bernie Sanders votes in Burlington, Vermont. Picture: AFP.

Elizabeth Warren will also be hoping that Super Tuesday’s contests will throw a lifeline to her flagging campaign. Her campaign says she believes she can amass enough delegates to justify continuing in the race even if she doesn’t win any states outright.

After Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar quit the contest and threw their support behind Mr Biden, Ms Warren’s departure would mean the Democratic race would be between three white men over the age of 75.

Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii is also in the race.

What states are voting

Super Tuesday is the first time diverse swathes of the country are simultaneously voting in the Democratic presidential race, with more than a third of the party’s 3,979 pledged delegates up for grabs. In addition to delegate-heavy California and Texas, the states holding primaries are: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont and Virginia. The territory of American Samoa and Democrats abroad will also hold contests.

However many voters in California, Texas and Colorado cast ballots early, before the Biden bounce in South Carolina made his candidacy look newly viable. Over the weekend, more than 1.4 million ballots were returned in California and another million in Texas. A large portion of those votes were cast when the race looked very different: Mr. Sanders was riding high, Mr. Buttigieg was close on his heels and Mr. Biden’s campaign was sputtering.

Important to watch will be the live voting in North Carolina and Virginia, both of which are big and middle-of-the-road enough to provide a real test of the mood.

People vote at a beachside voting centre in El Segundo, California. Picture: AFP.
People vote at a beachside voting centre in El Segundo, California. Picture: AFP.

California’s impact on the race

The state’s decision to move up its 2020 primary to Super Tuesday will make the nation’s most populous state one of the most important in deciding the Democratic nominee. But changes to the voting process could mean the final results won’t be known for weeks. Those changes include new voting equipment, vote centres that are replacing polling places in some counties and expanded same-day voter registration.

With the Wall St Journal

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/supertuesday-2020-bernie-sanders-seeks-to-ward-off-joe-biden/news-story/3200218b1b3d4d734bb87a46b62492dc