As Super Tuesday -- the single biggest day of voting -- came to a close, the candidates competed across 15 contests for a treasure chest of delegates, which were awarded across geographically and racially diverse parts of the country.
The stakes could not be higher as Democrats faced a significant turning point in the 2020 presidential race and were tested on a national scale.
Across 14 states -- Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia -- and one territory, American Samoa, 1,344 delegates were up for grabs. Results in delegate-rich California are still being calculated.
Here's how the day unfolded.
Based on analysis of the vote, ABC News projects that Biden will win the Texas primary.
Biden seems to be closing the gap in Texas, with just about three fourths of the expected vote reporting; he now leads Sanders by 3 percentage points.
Turnout in the state has already passed 2016 levels, which was 1,435,895. So far, with 76% of the expected vote in, it's at 1,680,893 votes cast.
Hillary Clinton won the 2016 Democratic primary there, topping Sanders by over thirty points.
ABC News' Quinn Scanlan reports.
Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan apologized to voters who were still waiting in line to cast ballots after the polls were supposed to close, but said they would not extend polling hours despite Sanders’ legal filing.
The complaint said that multiple polling locations in the county experienced extreme wait times – some as long as four hours – to cast a ballot. The filing also highlighted a new proprietary voting system called “Voting Solutions for All People” that was being used for the first time on a wide scale.
The campaign asked for polls to remain open until 10 p.m. (PST) and to offer provisional ballots to any voters who arrived at the polling sites after 8 p.m.
KABC reported that the U.S. District Court didn’t schedule a hearing on the complaint filed by the Sanders’ campaign before 8 p.m. About 90 minutes after the polls had closed Logan tweeted a reminder to voters in line to stay there in order to cast their ballots.
ATTENTION: Vote Centers will remain open for voters who arrive before the close of Vote Centers at 8 PM. Our priority is to ensure all voters who turned out to vote before the closing Vote Centers will cast their ballot.#StayInLine #LAVOTES @CountyofLA pic.twitter.com/SBMaRFy2fj
— Dean Logan, RR/CC (@LACountyRRCC) March 4, 2020
ABC News’ Averi Harper and Zohreen Shah report
So far, a total of 10,562,464 ballots have been cast across the country Tuesday. Biden is leading the popular vote with over 3.7 million votes, compared to Sanders' 2.9 million votes.
"One of the major Sanders talking points coming out of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada was that he was the popular vote winner everywhere until he hit South Carolina. Not the case here at all," ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl said.
ABC News' Kendall Karson reports.
The contentious Alabama Republican Senate primary will head to a runoff election, as neither former Senator and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, nor former Auburn head football coach Tommy Tuberville could clinch 50% of the vote, meaning that they will have to battle it out once more in order to win the Republican nomination.
The ultimate winner of the Republican primary will face the incumbent Democratic Sen. Doug Jones, one of the most vulnerable Democrats up for re-election in 2020.
Sessions held the Senate seat for 20 years before he was tapped by Trump to serve as attorney general.
ABC News' Meg Cunningham reports.
Voter turnout in Virginia has far surpassed turnout that the Democratic primary saw in 2016. With 99% of the vote in currently, 1,316,617 votes have been cast so far compared to that in 2016, when 782,895 Democratic ballots were cast.
Vermont has also narrowly surpassed its 2016 Democratic turnout thus far, with 154,432 ballots cast. In 2016, 134,571 Democratic ballots were cast.
Of the 15 Super Tuesday contests, there are only three that ABC News has yet to project: California, Maine and Texas.
ABC News' Meg Cunningham reports.
ABC News' National Correspondent Marcus Moore said there was a sense of surprise among young and Latino voters in Texas, where Sanders was pushing for a win. Biden is currently leading in the polls for Texas, although ABC News has yet to project a winner.
"It certainly was a surprise for a lot of people I met tonight," Moore said of Biden's success. "We were at the watch party here in Dallas as these votes were coming in. And certainly, now they are watching to see what happens."
Moore said there are still long lines of people waiting to submit their ballots across the state.
"There are still dozens of people, I understand, waiting to cast their ballots -- not only here in Dallas, but also several hours to the south in Houston," he said.
As votes continued to come in from Texas, ABC News' Chief National Affairs Correspondent Tom Llamas said the margin of votes between Sanders and Biden was thin.
"It is razor tight right now in Tarrant County, Fort Worth," he said just after midnight. "They're only separated by about 50 votes right there."
Texas has 228 delegates up for grabs -- the second-highest amount next to the 415 delegates in California.
ABC News has confirmed that following Biden’s win in Klobuchar’s home state of Minnesota, he spoke to the senator over the phone.
A spokesperson for Klobuchar also confirms that she will head back out on the campaign trial for Biden.
The Minnesota senator suspended her campaign Monday to endorse the former vice president.
ABC News' Lissette Rodriguez reports.
Former presidential candidate Marianne Williamson said that the moderate consolidation around Biden Tuesday was a "coup."
Writing on Twitter, the activist and businesswoman wrote, "Jake Tapper referred to the “resurrection” of Joe Biden’s campaign. This was not a resurrection; it was a coup."
The tweet was later deleted.
Following an unusual joint warning on Monday to countries or other foreign actors that might attempt to interfere in the nation’s Super Tuesday primaries, a senior Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency official says there were no reports of malicious activity.
MORE: US warns foreign actors: Stay out of Super Tuesday or 'face sharp consequences'"All our sources from the law enforcement and intelligence community say no malicious activity of note, and no real disinformation in terms of a spike that they had been looking for," said ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas.
.@PierreTABC on election interference: “All our sources from the law enforcement and intelligence community say no malicious activity of note, and no real disinformation in terms of a spike that they had been looking for.” https://t.co/29zWpEbeVi #SuperTuesday pic.twitter.com/RywMPBU0Ez
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 4, 2020
The official says that they were looking to look into some brief technical issues that touched on three states: Minnesota, Texas and California, but nothing indicated that there was any malicious actor involved. This official said the systems are up and running throughout the states.
Some misleading robocalls were reported in Texas. In the calls, the people were told to vote on the wrong day, but the senior CISA official says that those types of messages occur frequently on Election Day.
ABC News’ Luke Barr reports
Sanders supporter Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., took to twitter to question if the Super Tuesday results would have been different if progressives consolidated around the Vermont senator.
"Imagine if the progressives consolidated last night like the moderates consolidated, who would have won? That’s what we should be analyzing," she wrote.
Imagine if the progressives consolidated last night like the moderates consolidated, who would have won?
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 4, 2020
That’s what we should be analyzing. I feel confident a united progressive movement would have allowed for us to #BuildTogether and win MN and other states we narrowly lost. https://t.co/lAj2mhI3GR
After former presidential candidates Buttigieg and Klobuchar dropped out to endorse Biden, some progressives have called on Warren to end her campaign to support Sanders.
Speaking to supporters tonight in Michigan, the Massachusetts senator did not announce whether she would suspend her campaign after tonight.
Former New Jersey Governor and ABC News Contributor Chris Christie told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos, "Everyone thought that Joe Biden was dead. And so no one was paying any attention to him. He was being largely ignored even in the debates on the stage. He was complaining in one of the debates when do I get a chance to speak."
With his wins tonight, Christie said that the former vice president should expect more scrutiny in the coming weeks. "I think this is going to turn again and Biden's got to be ready," he added.
As we note Biden’s high levels of support among black voters (peaking at 72% in Alabama and 71% in Virginia), note also his competitiveness among whites in many states. In Texas (still not projected), whites voted a close 29-32% Biden-Sanders; in Maine, (not projected), 33-36%; in Massachusetts, 36-28%; and in Minnesota, 42-27%.
Others, too. Here’s a table of states where Biden has won or run competitively among white voters. And among all white voters in aggregate – a very close 31%-29%, Biden-Sanders.
Among whites
Biden Sanders
AL 53% 20%
VA 49% 24%
MN 42% 27%
MA 36% 28%
NC 34% 25%
OK 34% 23%
TN 34% 25%
ME 33% 36%
TX 29% 32%
All 31% 29%
Warren is on track to finish third in her home state of Massachusetts and is still fourth -- behind Bloomberg -- in total votes for the day, as currently counted, ABC News Political Director Rick Klein reports.
In a statement responding to Super Tuesday results, the Trump campaign cheered on the chance that Democrats could be headed for a contested convention while slamming a resurgent Biden as a "terrible" candidate and pushing the narrative that "establishment Democrats" are working to stop Bernie Sanders.
"The media is hyperventilating about Joe Biden, but everyone should remember that he is just as terrible a candidate right now as he was a few days ago," Brad Parscale, Trump's campaign manager, said in a statement.
Parscale also said "establishment Democrats have ganged up" to deny Sanders the Democratic nomination, saying it is causing "more mayhem."
"Even if Bernie is not on November’s ballot, his big government socialist ideas will be because they have become mainstream in today’s Democrat Party," he continued.
ABC News' Will Steakin reports.
In a message to her supporters, Warren pointed out that there are six more primaries next week and asked if they’d “chip in” to help the campaign.
“Delegates have to be counted and allocated by congressional district or state senate district, and that process takes time. But here’s the bottom line: There are six more primaries just one week away, and we need your help to keep up the momentum,” the letter says. Another breadcrumb for those who are on dropout watch.
Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux, senior writer for FiveThirtyEight, reports
With eight states under his belt, Biden directly responds to a tweet Trump sent earlier criticizing Bloomberg and Warren, telling the president, “You lost tonight.”
"You lost tonight, @realDonaldTrump. Democrats around the country are fired up. We are decent, brave, and resilient people. We are better than you. Come November, we are going to beat you," the former vice president tweeted.
The Sanders campaign has filed a complaint demanding that polls stay open past 8 p.m. (PST).
"This Complaint and Demand for Injunctive Relief seek an emergency temporary restraining order and injunctive relief to prevent polling locations in Los Angeles County (the “County”) from closing at 8 p.m. today, to ensure that Los Angeles County voters can exercise their constitutional right to vote," the filing read.
The complaint went on to say that multiple polling locations in the county experienced extreme wait times – some as long as four hours – to cast a ballot. The filing also highlighted a new proprietary voting system called “Voting Solutions for All People” that was being used for the first time on a wide scale.
“The new technology has resulted in problems because of check-in stations not working and machine failures, with insufficient or overwhelmed tech support and an inability to implement back-ups,” the filing said.
According to the complaint, the polls should remain open until 10 p.m. and to offer provisional ballots to any voters who arrive at the polling places after 8 p.m.
ABC News' Averi Harper reported.
Based on our analysis of the vote, ABC News projects Biden will win the Massachusetts primary
.@GStephanopoulos breaks news to Biden's communications director in the middle of an interview that Biden is projected to win the Massachusetts Democratic primary.
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 4, 2020
"That is the kind of news I don't mind reacting to live on air," she says. https://t.co/yc4oGhHdyU #SuperTuesday pic.twitter.com/N4eUIeJZcq
Bedingfield said the campaign is "incredibly grateful" to several of Biden's recent endorsements -- which include Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke, former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana Pete Buttigieg and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn
Based on analysis of the exit polls, ABC News can say that Sanders is leading in the California primary.
Preliminary exit poll results out of California reveal Sanders may win the delegate-rich state -- but not by a landslide as his campaign had hoped.
Asked who’s best able to beat Trump in November, Sanders was selected by 34% in California; Biden, 29%.
It’s also the first opportunity to check in on Asian voters, 6% in California. The electorate split 36-19-17-12% Sanders-Biden-Bloomberg-Warren.
Hispanic voters account for 28% of all voters in California, second to Texas as the most anywhere so far this primary season. They broke overwhelmingly for Bernie Sanders, per preliminary exit poll results. https://t.co/8kjwR0f7nG #SuperTuesday pic.twitter.com/aqYa9LsUp1
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 4, 2020
ABC News’ Senior White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega, reporting from a now-empty Bloomberg rally room says that although his campaign downplayed expectations tonight, they appear to be setting their candidate up to endorse Biden.
“His team is now saying if it's not him, he will likely get behind Joe Biden. They say he's not getting out ‘yet’ – yet being the operative word here,” Vega reports. “The campaign is saying he will keep battleground offices open, that he is pledging to help whoever the nominee is, if it’s not him, that going forward he will invest his money in a Democratic candidate.”
Based on analysis of the vote, ABC News projects that Biden will win the Minnesota primary.
The Biden campaign tweeted that their headquarter broke out into "Amy!" chants when several outlets called Minnesota for Biden.
There is an AMY chant currently reverberating through Biden HQ. https://t.co/1uY44T0m0u
— Bill Russo (@BillR) March 4, 2020
As Biden continues to net victories in Super Tuesday states, here's a reminder of how significantly less Biden spent compared to his rivals in some of the states he's won so far.
In North Carolina, where Biden is enjoying a big lead, the former vice president has only spent about $321,000 on ads, less than a fifth of the $1.7 million Sen. Bernie Sanders spent there.
With an 11th-hour endorsement from Klobuchar, Biden also just won Minnesota, where he only spent just a little more than $6,000, compared to more than $254,000 Sanders spent in the state.
Biden also won Arkansas by spending just about a fourth of what Sanders spent in the state and Tennessee by spending less than a third of what Sanders spent there.
Notably, Alabama and Virginia, which also sided with Biden, are two states where Biden spent more than Sanders.
And Bloomberg of course spent seven-and-eight figures in all of those states and has so far only won American Samoa.
ABC News’ Soorin Kim reports.
President Trump took a break from tweeting about Bloomberg to target Warren on Twitter, mocking the Massachusetts senator's poor showing in her home state. Warren is currently in third place behind Biden and Sanders.
"Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren, other than Mini Mike, was the loser of the night," he said in a tweet. "She didn’t even come close to winning her home state of Massachusetts. Well, now she can just sit back with her husband and have a nice cold beer!"
Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren, other than Mini Mike, was the loser of the night. She didn’t even come close to winning her home state of Massachusetts. Well, now she can just sit back with her husband and have a nice cold beer!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2020
The latter part of his tweet was in reference to a video posted on her Instagram story shortly after announcing her presidential exploratory committee.
MORE: In the 2020 campaign, candidate social media posts of visits to the dentist, enjoying a beer and more pull back the curtainABC News has reached out to the Warren campaign for comment but has yet to hear back.
ABC News' Will Steakin contributed to this report.
After his sweeping wins across the southern U.S. on Super Tuesday, Biden told supporters in Los Angeles, "it's looking good. So I'm here to report we are very much alive! And make no mistake about it, this campaign will send Donald Trump packing. This campaign is taking off."
"People are talking about a revolution. We started a movement. We’ve increased turn out. The turn out turned out for us. That can deliver us to a moment where we can do extraordinary, extraordinary things," he said.
As Biden spoke, several protesters rushed the stage carrying signs saying, "let dairy die."
After security removed the protesters, the former vice president continued his speech.
Joe Biden addresses supporters in California on #SuperTuesday: “It’s still early but things are looking awful, awful good.”
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 4, 2020
“For those who’ve been knocked down, counted out, left behind, this is your campaign.” https://t.co/yc4oGhHdyU pic.twitter.com/52d8bkP799
Discussing the early success of Biden in Super Tuesday states, ABC News’ Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl said he saw the "hidden hand" of former President Barack Obama -- referencing Biden's recent endorsements from Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
"Barack Obama spoke to both Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg when they got out," Karl said. "And they both moved very quickly to endorse Joe Biden."
Klobuchar endorsed Biden during his rally in Dallas Monday night -- with Buttigieg doing the same at a separate event.
Based on analysis of the vote, ABC Projects that Sanders will win the Minnesota primary.
“Minnesota does not have a big or significant African-American vote, so for Joe Biden to win up there without a core piece of his coalition is a big statement,” ABC News’ Contributor Rahm Emanuel said.
While former vice-president Joe Biden addressed crowds at his campaign headquarters in Los Angeles, two protesters with signs that said "Let Dairy Die" rushed the stage.
Jill Biden, the candidate's wife, assisted in removing them. Biden brushed off the incident and proceeded with his speech.
Based on analysis of the vote, ABC Projects that Sanders will win the Utah primary.
A look at Mike Bloomberg's personal popularity in the states where it's been asked. Underwater everywhere.
Views of Bloomberg
Favorable Unfavorable
California 32% 58%
Virginia 40% 56%
Colorado 41% 52%
South Carolina 26% 66%
Following an unusual joint warning on Monday to countries or other foreign actors that might attempt to interfere in the nation’s Super Tuesday primaries, a senior Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency official says there were no reports of malicious activity.
MORE: US warns foreign actors: Stay out of Super Tuesday or 'face sharp consequences'“We have not seen any ransomware activity targeting election jurisdictions,” this official says.
The official explains that they were looking to look into some brief technical issues that touched on three states: Minnesota, Texas and California, but nothing indicated that there was any malicious actor involved. This official said the systems are up and running throughout the states.
Some misleading robocalls were reported in Texas. In the calls, the people were told to vote on the wrong day, but the senior CISA official says that those types of messages occur frequently on Election Day.
ABC News’ Luke Barr reports
Based on analysis of the vote, ABC News projects Biden will win the Arkansas primary.
Sanders addressed his supporters in his home state of Vermont, where ABC News projects he has won.
"Tonight I tell you with absolute confidence we're going to win the Democratic nomination," he said.
Sanders' campaign is hoping for a win in Texas and California, both of which have yet to be projected.
"I don't know what's going to happen later tonight," he said. "We're doing well in Texas right now."
"I'm cautiously optimistic that later in the evening, we can win the largest state in this country, the state of California," he continued.
MORE: Bernie Sanders calls his plan to fund Medicare for All 'far more' progressive than Elizabeth Warren'sSanders reiterated his priorities, which he says are "standing up for the working class and the middle class." Those include Medicare for all, tution and debt-free public colleges and a wealth tax on the top 0.1% of U.S. households.
Bernie Sanders addresses supporters in Vermont on #SuperTuesday: “Tonight I tell you with absolute confidence we’re going to win the Democratic nomination, and we are going to defeat the most dangerous president in the history of this country.” https://t.co/mYPwAtDuTk pic.twitter.com/4leAnxvjGX
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 4, 2020
Here’s where the pledged delegate count stands among candidates still in the race: Biden: 137 Bloomberg: 7 Gabbard: 1 Sanders: 100 Warren: 9 1,991 pledged delegates are needed for the Democratic nomination.
Former New Jersey Governor and ABC News Contributor Chris Christie said if Sanders "were to win Texas and California, to me that changes the entire narrative of the evening."
"It's much too early -- it's a good night for vice president Biden, no question," he told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos.
"(But) if Sanders wins Texas and California, that's a problem for Biden," he added.
Former North Dakota Senator and ABC News Contributor Heidi Heitkamp told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos the fact that Biden is leading in Massachusetts is "huge."
"No one thought that anyone other than Bernie or Elizabeth would win one of the northeastern states. Joe has done very well. It speaks to what I call the old FDR Democrats who are coming out tonight, older Democrats coming out tonight saying we still love Joe Biden," she said.
With 16% of the expected vote in, Biden leads Sanders in Massachusetts 33 to 26%. Warren follows in third with 22%.
Based on analysis of the vote, ABC News projects Cal Cunningham will win the North Carolina Democratic Senate primary.
ABC News projected Thom Tillis will win for the GOP.
The two are projected to face off in November.
FiveThirtyEight Senior Political Writer Clare Malone, writing on Twitter, says, "Biden is making a pretty good sweep of the South but Texas and California are the big delegate troves and there's hours and miles to go before we know what happened there. No jumping to conclusions yet." California polls will close tonight at 11 p.m.
Based on analysis of the vote, ABC News projects that Sanders will win the Colorado primary.
As Sanders prepares to speak at a rally in his home state of Vermont, ABC News' Multi-Platform Reporter Rachel Scott said the campaign is "not phased" by the early results from Super Tuesday -- noting that the Vermont senator's priority is to do well in Texas and California.
"They know those two states have the most delegates up for grabs on Super Tuesday," Scott said. "Senator Sanders and his campaign have been able to mobilize young voters and also Latino voters."
Scott also mentioned Massachusetts as a state to watch. Sanders held a rally in Warren's home state over the weekend, bringing in more than 13,000 people.
A Sanders campaign spokesperson told ABC News, “Some of the biggest states haven't stopped voting yet. If you turn off your television at 10 p.m. tonight you will wake up tonight to a different race.
Based on analysis of the exit poll, ABC News has projected that Trump has won the primaries in 10 states -- Vermont, North Carolina, Maine, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Colorado and Texas.
Based on analysis of the vote, ABC News projects that incumbent Sen. John Cornyn will win the Texas Republican primary.
Support for the eventual nominee ranges from 87 percent in Texas to 78 percent in Virginia and Oklahoma alike – and in preliminary exit poll results out of California, 86 percent say they’ll support the nominee regardless of who it is, while 13 percent are not making that commitment.
There’s a difference among supporters of the various candidates: Among Biden and Warren supporters in California, 93 percent alike say they’ll support the eventual nominee whoever it is. Among California Sanders and Bloomberg supporters, somewhat fewer say so, 84 and 83 percent, respectively.
Two groups may prove key in today’s California Democratic primary: liberals and Hispanics. Liberals account for 67% of voters in preliminary exit poll results, 7 points higher than the average in the other 11 states with exit polls today; Hispanics, 28% slightly lower than in Texas 32 percent% according to preliminary exit poll results from the California Democratic primary.
ABC News' Polling Director Gary Langer reports
Based on our analysis of the vote, ABC News projects that Biden will win the Tennessee primary.
In preliminary results out of Colorado, mainline Democrats -- a core Biden constituency -- make up 63 percent of voters, yet Sanders is running ahead of Biden, 29-20 percent.
On favorability, Warren 72%, Sanders 63% and Biden 63% are broadly popular among voters -- but not Bloomberg, with just 41% favorability.
Based on analysis of the vote ABC News projects that Trump will win the Tennessee Republican primary.
Klobuchar’s exit from the contest Monday and endorsement of Biden distilled the race in Klobuchar’s home state, with liberals and younger adults favoring Sanders, and moderates and late-deciding voters siding with Biden.
Fifty-five percent of voters made their decision in the last few days -- including 22 percent who decided Tuesday, following Klobuchar’s departure from the race Monday. Last-day deciders went heavily for Biden, 41 percent compared with 19 percent for Warren and 18 percent for Sanders. Sanders was stronger among those who decided earlier.
At a campaign stop at Rosco's Chicken in Los Angeles, Biden told reporters that "It feels good, I don't know what the outcome, what the actual results are but it feels good and we're feeling optimistic."
Biden wouldn’t comment on what he would consider success tonight, saying he would leave it to the pundits to define it.
A little while later, ABC News asked Biden for his reaction to winning North Carolina, and Virginia—two states he told ABC he felt good about earlier today. When asked if Texas was next, Biden didn’t answer, only crossed his fingers.
ABC News' Molly Nagle reports.
When the polls closed in Houston, the Harris County clerk reminded voters they could still cast their ballots if they were in line by 7 p.m. (CST).
Polls are now closed in Harris County. If you were in line at your polling location by 7PM you will be processed to vote.
— Harris County Clerk (@HarrisVotes) March 4, 2020
And in line they were, according to social media posts.
The Texas Civil Rights Project, lawyers who offered a hotline for anyone to report problems voting, asked that Harris County leaders come together to solve the problem before the general election.
"Once again, black and brown voters in #HarrisCo are facing unacceptable wait times in their communities. We know that some voters have already given up and gone home. This is not the first time this has happened. This is a predictable trend in election after election in Harris Co.," the group tweeted.
"We will be following up in the coming weeks with county elected officials as well as county party chairs," the statement continued.
We call upon Harris County leaders to come together and solve this problem before the general election, and we will be following up in the coming weeks with county elected officials as well as county party chairs#ProtectOurVote
— Texas Civil Rights Project (@TXCivilRights) March 4, 2020
While Bloomberg spoke to supporters in Florida, Trump's campaign manager attacked his Super Tuesday performance, calling him the "worst candidate in history."
"He might have had great consultants but he might be the worst candidate in history," Brad Parscale, Trump's re-election campaign manager, said in a tweet.
Bloomberg might have paid 1 billion for ONE delegate tonight, maybe. It’s early but OMG.
— Brad Parscale - Text TRUMP to 88022 (@parscale) March 4, 2020
He might have had great consultants but he might be the worst candidate in history.
Like I’ve said for awhile, money can’t buy likability.
Bloomberg spent more than $234 million in TV, radio and digital advertising ahead of Super Tuesday. He was the only candidate to have ad buys in all 14 states voting tonight.
Based on analysis of the vote, ABC News projects that Trump will win the Arkansas Republican primary. And based on analysis of the vote, ABC News projects that Trump will win the Massachusetts Republican primary.
Speaking from Bloomberg's rally in Miami, ABC News' Senior White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega said the former mayor is "downplaying expectations."
ABC News’ Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl also said upon hearing Bloomberg’s remarks, “He's certainly not going to be campaigning for Bernie Sanders. He's clearly positioning himself to be very helpful to Joe Biden.”
According to preliminary exit poll results in Texas, very liberal voters made up 24 percent of the electorate -- a new high, if it holds in later results. Sanders won this group, with 49 percent of voters backing him. Moderates -- also 24 percent of the electorate, down from 34 percent in 2016 -- overwhelmingly backed Biden, with 51 percent. The results reveal how, even in Texas, Democrats are favoring more progressive policies.
With 93% of the expected vote reporting in Virginia, Joe Biden holds a commanding lead over the rest of the field. Sanders is set for a second place finish behind the former vice president with 23%. Warren and Bloomberg follow with 11 and 10%, respectively.
Some prominent Republican figures across the country stepped out for Super Tuesday to vote Democrat.
Among them was John Weaver, a political consultant who worked on John McCain's presidential campaign in 2000 and 2008 and served as the chief strategist for Ohio Gov. John Kasich's GOP run for the White House in 2016.
MORE: Super Tuesday live updates: Voters in 14 states and 1 US territory head to the pollsWeaver announced on Twitter that he had voted for former Vice President Joe Biden in Texas.
Just voted to return decency to the White House and beat the hell outta @realDonaldTrump Proud to have voted in the Democratic primary for @JoeBiden #TeamJoe pic.twitter.com/5CVshcDrnb
— John Weaver (@jwgop) March 3, 2020
ABC News' Ella Torres reports.
Bloomberg is currently viable in North Carolina both statewide and in a few congressional districts, with over 30% of expected vote reporting. He's currently above 15% in the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th congressional districts.
ABC News' Meg Cunningham reports.
Based on analysis of the vote, ABC News projects that in the race for Governor in North Carolina, Roy Cooper will win the Democratic primary and Dan Forest will win the Republican primary.
Based on analysis of the vote in so far, ABC News projects that Thom Tillis will win the Republican Senate Primary race in North Carolina.
Based on analysis of the vote, ABC News projects that Trump will win the Vermont and Oklahoma Republican primaries.
ABC News has projected that Joe Biden has won the Alabama primary, based on an analysis of the exit polls, and that Michael Bloomberg has won American Samoa's caucus, based on all the precincts reporting. Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who was born in American Samoa, will get her first delegate since voting began, with ABC News estimating she'll get at least one in her home territory.
Anywhere from 78% to 87% of Democratic voters in today's primary contests say they’ll back the ultimate nominee no matter who it is, according preliminary exit poll results.
Among preliminary exit poll results, ABC News detects growing support for socialism and single payer health care among Democratic voters.
In Maine, for instance, socialism is seen favorably by 62% of primary voters.
There's also broad support for a single-payer health care plan in Maine’s preliminary results, 72% -- second highest among states after Vermont -- and Sanders won this group by a wide margin. Health care was seen as the most important issue of four listed among 47 percent of Maine voters, higher than the 40% across the 11 other states with exit poll results Tuesday night.
Based on analysis of the exit polls, ABC News reports Maine is looking like a two-person race between Biden and Sanders.
Massachusetts is looking like a three-person race between Biden, Sanders and Warren.
ABC News also projects that Trump will win the Maine Republican primary.
Michael Bloomberg spent a modest $904 running online ads in American Samoa. Bloomberg is the only candidate in the 2020 Democratic primary field to spend on digital ads in American Samoa.
It's unclear if he spent any money on television or radio ads in American Samoa because they're not reported the same way as other markets.
ABC News' Soorin Kim reports.
7:43 p.m. Former Clinton adviser says Sanders has 'unified' Latino voters
Amanda Renteria, the former political director for Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016, said to ABC News Live Host Linsey Davis that Sanders' success in reaching Latino communities came from talking about "his own immigrant roots."
Sanders has been pushing hard for the Latino vote in states like California and Texas, where they make up a significant part of the electorate. Recent polls indicate Biden has nearly three times the support among Latino Democrats in California as Biden and a 12 percentage-point lead over Biden with Latino Democrats in Texas.
MORE: With help from Latino voters, Bernie Sanders hits the Nevada jackpotHis views on health care and immigration have appealed to Latino voters, something Renteria says has contributed to a feeling of unity.
"Humanity in immigration have unified different Latino communities," she said.
Based on 100% of precincts reporting, ABC News can say that Bloomberg has won the American Samoan caucus.
Speaking to supporters in Detroit, Warren told supporters, "I'm in this race because I believe I will make the best president of the United States of America."
The senator began the day campaigning in her home state of Massachusetts before traveling west to Michigan.
Reporting from the Michigan rally, ABC News Senior National Correspondent Terry Moran says of the Warren campaign, "It doesn't look like they're going to get a victory anywhere" and that they're hoping for a deadlock convention.
"There's tremendous emotion, tremendous affection for this candidate," Moran said. "She connects with people, just not enough."
Based on analysis of the exit poll, ABC News projects that Biden will win the North Carolina Democratic primary and Trump will win the Republican primary.
A focus on electability and broad support from black voters boosts Biden in North Carolina, while 18- to 29-year-olds and those who support a shift to more liberal policies than Barack Obama's back Sanders, according to a preliminary ABC News exit poll. Bloomberg is the wildcard, albeit with voter concerns about vast campaign spending from candidates' personal pockets.
As Super Tuesday results continue to come in, Trump went after Bloomberg on Twitter with a video of the former mayor licking his fingers while eating pizza at a campaign stop.
The president, a self-described germaphobe, mockingly warned Bloomberg not to lick his “dirty” fingers, seeming to make a joke referencing the growing coronavirus threat.
"Mini Mike, don’t lick your dirty fingers. Both unsanitary and dangerous to others and yourself!" Trump said in the tweet.
Mini Mike, don’t lick your dirty fingers. Both unsanitary and dangerous to others and yourself! pic.twitter.com/LsKLZNeZL9
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2020
Earlier on Tuesday, the president said Super Tuesday will be "an interesting evening of television," but has yet to comment on the contests that have been called -- or on the sole contest Bloomberg has been projected to have won so far, American Samoa.
ABC News' Will Steakin reports.
Speaking to reporters at an ice cream shop in Los Angeles, Joe Biden told ABC News that he thought it was "possible" he could win Texas, the second largest prize.
While the former vice president said he did not want to speculate about his chances, he said, "I feel very good about particularly Texas, Virginia, North Carolina -- I even feel good about California, but we in got late in the game. And so we'll see, we'll see."
ABC News' Molly Nagle reports.
7:02 p.m. Sanders campaign says 'political establishment' has chosen Biden as their candidate
In a fundraising email sent Tuesday evening, the Sanders campaign responded directly to the developments in the presidential race over the past few days.
"The political establishment has chosen their candidate," the email read. "It's Joe Biden. And they're lining up behind him in an effort to derail our momentum in this race."
Although Sanders attacked Biden at a rally in Minnesota Monday night, he did not directly reference the former vice president's recent endorsements from former Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former Rep. Beto O'Rourke.
MORE: Sen. Amy Klobuchar suspends her presidential bidThe campaign said it will need "an incredible amount of resources" to win the states following Super Tuesday.
"We need a lot of donations to stay on track to win," the campaign said in the email. "Because after tonight's results, we expect super PAC spending will increase dramatically in order to defeat us."
ABC News' Adam Kelsey reports.
Based on analysis of the exit poll, ABC News projects that Sanders will win the Vermont and Biden will win the Virginia primaries.
According to an ABC News exit poll among Democrats who voted in Virginia Tuesday, former Vice President Joe Biden benefits from his personal popularity, a sense that he can beat Trump, and his strength among the black electorate in Virginia, while Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. is strong among very liberal and younger voters. Moderates and older voters keep former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in the hunt, while more educated voters -- and especially college-educated women – are a stronger group for Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
Asked who they think is best able to beat Trump in November, 53% of voters picked Biden; 21%, Sanders; 12%, Bloomberg; and 7%, Warren.
According to a preliminary ABC News exit poll among Democrats who voted Tuesday in Vermont, Sanders dominated among young adults, independents and liberal voters alike in his home state. He also won handily among voters who want to see a single-payer health care plan, crowding out support for Warren in predominantly liberal Vermont.
Seventy-five percent in Vermont were in favor of replacing all private health insurance with a single government plan, the most in states with exit polls today or in any previous stated -- a signature issue for Sanders and Warren alike.
Sixty-two percent would rather see the Democratic Party nominate a candidate who can beat Donald Trump versus 35 percent for one who agrees with them on major issues. Among those who cared more about electability, 46 percent cast their vote for Sanders while 29 percent went for Biden.
Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg's campaign manager Kevin Sheekey suggests they are laying the groundwork for an off-ramp for their candidate.
"I think Mike Bloomberg is either the candidate for the party or the single most important person helping that candidate defeat Donald Trump," he said.
Asked it there is a a chance mayor Bloomberg drops out tonight, Sheekey responded: "Absolutely not. Anyone that's expecting an early night, anyone whose expecting the kind of night where they can go home and go to sleep early can forget about it."
A Davidson County Judge Tuesday afternoon ruled that polls can remain open until 8 p.m. (CST) at all sites across Nashville, in the wake of a deadly tornado. Polls were originally set to close at 7 p.m. The following five polling sites will remain open until 10 p.m.:
Election Commission Office, 1417 Murfreesboro Pike. Howard Office Building, 700 Second Ave. S. Cleveland Community Center, 610 Vernon Winfrey Ave. Donelson Presbyterian Church, 2305 Lebanon Pike. Pearl Cohn High School, 904 26th Ave. N.
MORE: Super Tuesday voting in Tennessee impacted by deadly tornadoesThe ruling came at the request of four of the top Democratic presidential campaigns, along with the Tennessee Democratic Party, the Nashville Tennessean reports. The groups filed suit in a Nashville court on Tuesday to extend poll times amid heavy tornado damage throughout the city.
ABC News' Kendall Karson reports.
Meanwhile, even amid Super Tuesday voting, the health threat and economic repercussions of coronavirus loom large. Democratic presidential candidates are unanimously condemning the Trump administration's handling of the outbreak. In turn, President Donald Trump has accused the Democrats of "politicizing" the issue, characterizing it as "their new hoax."
Although every Democratic presidential contender has attacked the administration for its response, only two candidates, Sen. Elizabeth Warren , D-Mass., and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, have offered formal plans to combat health crises, including COVID-19.
ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos reports here.
In turn, President Donald Trump has accused the Democrats of "politicizing" the issue, characterizing it as "their new hoax."
90,000 cases of coronavirus worldwide. The U.S. has confirmed at least 108 cases of the virus, including several "community-acquired" cases in which the individuals had no known exposure to the COVID-19 virus through travel or close contact with an infected individual.
In the wake of a deadly tornado which killed at least 25 people, a judge has ruled all Tennessee polls must extend Super Tuesday hours. Voters in Tennessee were rerouted to other polling stations after deadly tornadoes ripped through the state.
There's a "democratic socialist" on the ballot, Sanders, and exit polls in five states asked voters if they have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of socialism. Answers varied, from a high of 62% favorable in Maine to a low of 47%in Tennessee, given currently available results.
According to ABC News reporting, 57% of Democratic voters in preliminary exit poll results from Texas have a favorable opinion of socialism.
Texans come in ahead of North Carolina and Tennessee, behind Maine, in receptivity to socialism.
57% of Democratic voters in preliminary exit poll results from Texas have a favorable opinion of socialism. pic.twitter.com/78JGDcxWFA
— Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) March 3, 2020
Sanders has been targeted for his Democratic socialist views -- which include tuition-free college and Medicare for all. He has made the argument that democratic socialism is "less radical than characterized by opponents," and also says it's the easiest way to differentiate his campaign from Trump.
ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos questioned Biden on whether or not he believes a Democratic candidate with socialist beliefs could defeat Trump in early February.
"I think it's going to be incredibly more difficult," Biden said in the exclusive interview.
.@GStephanopoulos: "So you think flat out Democrats can't defeat Trump if they have to defend socialism?"
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) February 9, 2020
Joe Biden: "I think it's going to be incredibly more difficult." https://t.co/nPQ57Pvs7t pic.twitter.com/bZvoDVs4mJ
With early voting going on for a good while in most states, the potential influence of late-breaking events is an open question – particularly, former Vice President Joe Biden's win in South Carolina and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg's and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar's decisions to withdraw from the race and endorse Biden. In preliminary exit poll results, anywhere from 31% in Tennessee to 47% in Oklahoma and Virginia alike said they finally made up their minds just today or in the last few days.
While divided in their vote preferences for the party's nominee, Democratic voters are united in dissatisfaction – and for some, even anger – with the Trump administration. Anywhere from 83 to 94% in preliminary results say they're either angry or dissatisfied with the current administration. Anger peaks in Maine 79%, Colorado 77% and Vermont 75%.
Racial and ethnic groups are worth watching at the state level, ABC News' Director of Polling Gary Langer points out. Turnout among blacks should be important given their vast support for Biden in South Carolina, where they accounted for 56 percent of primary voters and backed Biden over Sanders by 61-17%. Preliminary results tonight find black turnout highest in Alabama 44%, North Carolina 27%, Virginia 27% and Tennessee 26%.
Hispanics accounted for just 5 percent of voters in the early states overall, rising to 17 percent in Nevada. They're expected to account for many more voters in two states – Texas 32% in 2016 and California 30% in 2008, the last year for which we have exit poll data. We'll update with tonight's figures as those data come in.
Before today, Hispanics voted for Sanders over Biden by 41-20% overall, and by 50-17% in Nevada, where they were particularly young, 55% younger than 45 and supportive of single-payer government health care, two strong Sanders groups.
As ABC News Deputy Political Director MaryAlice Parks writes: "On Tuesday night alone, more than 30% of all of the Democratic Party's pledged delegates are up for grabs in some of the largest states in the union: California has 415 delegates, Texas has 228. Virginia and North Carolina are also voting, both of which have double the number of delegates compared to South Carolina. When the dust settles from the Super Tuesday states, 1499 delegates will have been awarded."
With so much of the delegate pool at stake in one night, will a single candidate walk away with a lead in delegates that is hard to catch or will the math shake out to show a great divide that could take months to heal and process?
Read more of her take here.
Former Gov. Bill Weld, who the last remaining Republican running a long-shot primary challenge against President Donald Trump, tells ABC News he plans to continue his campaign past Super Tuesday regardless of tonight's outcome in the Republican Super Tuesday states.
"I am in this race to offer Republicans and independents a credible, honest alternative to Donald Trump. The need for such an alternative doesn't end tonight, regardless of outcomes," Weld told ABC News in a statement on Tuesday, adding that he plans to head on to "key states such as Michigan and Florida in the days ahead."
ABC News' Will Steakin reported
Wondering which states vote, when polls close and other pertinent Super Tuesday info?
Well, as ABC News' Meg Cunningham writes, since there is no national primary voting day, Super Tuesday is as close as it comes. The end of the day's voting will bring major delegate allocations and answer some of the questions looming over the Democratic primary.
Read more here
ABC News' Kendall Karson, Lauren King, Quinn Scanlan and Allie Yang contributed to this report.
