Tuesday 22 / October / 2024
Bernie Sanders is projected to win California, the top prize of the Super Tuesday Democratic primaries, after rival Joe Biden surged ahead with early victories cementing his comeback.
The former vice president is projected to win in eight states, two of which — Virginia and North Carolina — offer a large number of delegates.
While votes are still being counted, Biden currently stands as the frontrunner in the race for the Democratic nomination with 327 delegates. Sanders has been pushed down to second place with 218 delegates.
Bernie Sanders, who was the frontrunner until Tuesday, is also projected to win in Colorado, Utah and his home state of Vermont.
Mike Bloomberg won his first and only primary in the US territory of American Samoa, securing five delegates. The billionaire candidate who spent nearly $500 million (~ €448), mostly on ads in the Super Tuesday states, will reportedly reassess his campaign on Wednesday. But a campaign official said this did not mean he would drop out, according to a news agency.
Candidates now have their sights on the second biggest state in the Super Tuesday primaries, Texas.
With 1,334 or 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.
A candidate must have at least 1,991 delegates to win the Democratic nomination.
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.
Sanders remains confident
Bernie Sanders thanked his supporters in Vermont and assured them that he will clinch the Democratic nomination at the party's convention in July.
"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," the Vermont Senator said.
He also took a dig at his rival Joe Biden. "You cannot beat Trump with the same-old, same-old kind of politics," Sanders said. Highlighting the past record of Biden, he said the race will be a constrast in ideas.
"One of us in this race led the opposition to war in Iraq," Sanders said, referring to himself. "Another candidate voted for the war in Iraq. One of us has spent his entire life fighting against cuts in social security ... another candidate has been on the floor of the senate, calling for cuts in social security, Medicare and Medicaid and veteran's budget."
The former vice-president also took aim at the three-term senator without naming him. "People are talking about a revolution. We started a movement," Biden said, referring to Sanders' signature line.
Divided among Democrats
Super Tuesday, much like the previous primaries, saw 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
