Super Tuesday drew to a close in Massachusetts with former Vice President Joe Biden emerging victorious. The candidate took 33.7 percent of votes with 80.5 percent of precincts reporting, earning 31 delegates from the Commonwealth.
Among the 14 states that voted Tuesday, Biden won eight as of midnight. Most were in the South — Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee and Oklahoma — but he also claimed Minnesota.
At his victory speech in California, Biden referenced his South Carolina victory last week and listed out the states he secured Tuesday.
“Just a few days ago the press and the pundits had declared the campaign dead,” Biden said. “I’m here to report we are very much alive. And make no mistake about it, this campaign will send [President] Donald Trump packing.”
Following Biden’s lead was Sen. Bernie Sanders with 27.1 percent of the vote and 22 Massachusetts delegates. Sanders also took his home state of Vermont, as well as California, Colorado and Utah.
He spoke about the strength of his Super Tuesday showing to a sea of supporters waving white and blue “Bernie” signs at his Vermont watch party.
“When we began this race for the presidency, everybody said it couldn’t be done,” Sanders said. “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 this country.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who in previous public opinion polls had been neck and neck against Sanders as 2020’s leading progressive candidate, trailed behind in third place at 20.7 percent in her home state. She will move forward with 10 delegates from Massachusetts.
The senator returned to Massachusetts Tuesday morning to vote in her home city of Cambridge, where she pulled in an overwhelming victory over Biden and Sanders.
Greeting crowds of supporters lining the streets, Warren made her way to the polling station at Graham Parks and School with her husband Bruce Mann and family dog Bailey. Elementary school students waved out the windows of their upper-floor classrooms.
Warren and Mann purchased treats from a bake sale near the entrance of the voting room before stopping to speak with a group of schoolchildren. One among the young crowd posed a question: would children have a voice in everything she does as president?
“Yeah,” Warren said. “In fact, I already made a promise that our Secretary of Education not only has to be a public school teacher, that person will also have to meet with some school kids.”
After arriving in Detroit, Michigan later in the day, Warren made it clear to voters she will remain in the fight.
“My name is Elizabeth Warren and I’m the woman who’s going to beat Donald Trump,” Warren said. “I am also going to help take back the Senate and put Mitch McConnell out of a job.”
Tuesday was also the first time former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s name appeared on states’ ballots, as he had opted out of the first caucuses and primary elections of the year.
Bloomberg attained 11.7 percent of votes in Massachusetts. He did not make first choice in any of the state’s 351 municipalities.
Though he ended the night without major headway in the states, Bloomberg won the U.S. territory of American Samoa and has collected more total delegates than Warren.
After the weak showing, Bloomberg announced Wednesday morning he would suspend his campaign after losing to Biden in many of the states he had invested heavy advertisement money in.
Last updated 10:35 a.m. March 4, 2020
