Joe Biden Projected Winner In Michigan Democratic Primary

Former Vice President Joe Biden is the winner in the 2020 Michigan Democratic Presidential Primary, according to projections from NBC News and The Associated Press. The win is a major upset for Vemont Sen. Bernie Sanders who scored a key victory against Hillary Clinton in the state in 2016.

Six states had primaries on Tuesday, with Michigan awarding the most number of delegates (125) followed by Washington (89).

In Michigan, Sanders campaigned hard before the March 10 primary, holding several key events in Michigan, including a rally at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. At an event in Detroit on Monday, Biden declared himself a "bridge" to the future generation of leaders.

Heading into Tuesday, polls showed Biden with a comfortable lead over Sanders.

According to the latest results from The New York Times as of midnight, Biden has nearly 53 percent of the vote, followed by Sanders at nearly 38 percent with 80 percent of precincts reporting.

Michigan also allowed all voters to request absentee ballots in 2020 and according to The Detroit Free Press, nearly 1 million voters have used that option and just over 800,000 ballots have been returned. The Free Press notes that results could be delayed because of the large volume of absentee ballots.

Patch will update this story with results as they come in. Check back here for the latest.

Sanders enjoyed victories in key early states but Biden's win in South Carolina and the subsequent withdrawal of other moderate candidates led to a surge on Super Tuesday for the former vice president. He has since picked up a number of endorsements from his former opponents, including Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and California Sen. Kamala Harris. He also has the endorsement of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist.

Going into Tuesday, Biden led in the overall delegate count with 664 compared to the 573 that Sanders has. In all, 352 delegates were at stake on Tuesday.

Along with Washington and Michigan, the candidates are competing for delegates in Idaho, North Dakota, Mississippi and Missouri.