VA Super Tuesday Results: Biden Beats Sanders Amid Record Turnout

VIRGINIA — Virginia voters have overwhelmingly given former Vice President Joe Biden a sizable win over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in Tuesday's primary election. According to unofficial state election returns, Biden has been called the winner of the state with 53.3 percent of what was a record primary turnout, and will capture the largest share of its 99 delegates.

Sanders, Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg tried to secure delegates among the 14 states and one U.S. territory voting on Super Tuesday. Biden has told voters he's the better candidate to defeat President Donald Trump in the November general election.

Polls closed at 7 p.m. in Virginia, and CNN, the New York Times and the Associated Press immediately called the race for Biden with double the votes that Sanders received. With 100 percent of precincts in, Biden finished well ahead of 23.1 percent for Sanders, 10.7 percent for Warren and 9.6 percent for Bloomberg, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

“Primary report: We are very much alive," Biden said at a 10:30 p.m. rally in Los Angeles. "And make no mistake about it, this campaign will send Donald Trump packing. Join us … we need you, we want you, there’s a place for you in this campaign."

While Sanders has long argued he has energized younger voters and will bring new constituents to the race, Biden said his campaign has increased turnout and that turnout delivered for him Tuesday.

The former vice president ticked off issues he will deliver on if elected, including affordable health care. “I promise you cures for cancer, Alzheimers and diabetes," Biden said. "Standing up to the NRA and the gun manufacturers.”

At 10 p.m. Sanders sounded upbeat as he spoke to supporters in Vermont, even as Oklahoma, Minnesota and Arkansas were also called for Biden. Sanders had the lead in Colorado.

“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,” Sanders said. “We are going to win, we are going to defeat Trump, because we are putting together an unprecedented grassroots, multiracial, multigenerational movement.”

Biden has also been declared the winner in the Alabama, North Carolina and Oklahoma primaries.

Voters turned out in record numbers in Virginia on Super Tuesday. With votes totaling more than 1.3 million, this year’s Democratic primary in Virginia far exceeded the 782,900 votes cast in the 2016 primary when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton beat Sanders in a landslide. The turnout also surpasses the previous record of 986,000 votes cast in the 2008 Democratic primary.

In a primary with votes spread out across four candidates, Biden received about 704,000 votes Tuesday in Virginia, 200,000 more votes than Clinton received in the 2016 primary when it was a two-person race. Sanders won 30,000 more votes Tuesday than the 275,000 votes he received in Virginia in the 2016 primary.

Bloomberg gave a speech from Florida after he was named the projected winner of American Samoa, which will be his first delegate pickup. "As the results come in, here's what is clear: no matter how many delegates we win tonight, we have done something no one else thought was possible. In just three months we've gone from 1 percent of the polls to being a contender for the Democratic nomination for president," he said.

At the Four Mile Run precinct in Arlington, Elliott Wu told Patch he voted for Sanders because he believes it’s finally time for the nation to have a real universal health care system that Sanders' "Medicare for All" plan would bring.

“Biden was a fine vice president,” Wu said. “But Sanders’ advocacy for increased government support for social safety nets is going to have far greater impact on the country over what Biden could possibly bring to the table at the moment.”

For Kathryn Deeson, who voted at the Fairfax High School precinct in the city of Fairfax, there was one overarching reason for her to vote in Tuesday's Democratic primary: "Concern for my country," she said. "It's time for a change, a big change. ... Get rid of Trump."

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On the eve of Super Tuesday, Biden gained endorsements from former presidential candidates, including Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke. The three joined Biden at a rally in Dallas on Monday night.

Earlier at an event in Houston, Biden said he would "build on the legacy" of former President Barack Obama. He also contrasted himself with Sanders on leading the country after President Trump, The Washington Post reported.

"Most Americans they don’t want a promise of a revolution, they want a guarantee of results," he said in remarks.

Sanders made his pitch to voters in an interview with CNN, touting an economy and government that benefits everyone, "not just the 1 percent." He said the key to beating Trump will be "campaign that has energy and excitement that can speak to working people, young people, people who have given up on the political establishment."

Related: Super Tuesday Latest Results From Around The Country

Sanders also can galvanize the voter base, according to Wu. “At this point, it’s not about converting the voters who are in the middle of the road," he said. "It’s about bringing people out. That means you need someone with genuine charisma. You need someone who can bring that energy out of the voter base.”

Jay Gatchalian, who voted for Sanders at the Four Mile Run precinct, maintained that "centrist policies have been done before, and they’ve gotten us a little bit forward. But these times right now we need to move a lot forward, so that’s why I’m moving for Bernie.”

Pat, a self-described far-left voter who declined to provide a last name, agrees with some of what Sanders says. However, Pat voted in Falls Church for Biden, calling him "realistically more of a person who can pull the party together."

Both issues and the candidates brought Sean McGrath to the polls in Fairfax City. A self-described supporter of Sanders, he said his politics leaned strongly to the liberal side.

"I'm excited that there is actually a very left-leaning liberal candidate who has a shot of winning," he said.

As far as what issues motivated him the most, McGrath cited climate change as the big one, but also his status as a federal employee. "My concerns with how the federal government is run is valid," he said.

Cynthia Gunn, who described herself as a fairly diehard Democratic, said she came out to the polls in Fairfax City for both the issues and candidates.

"I would very much like to see a new administration in the White House right now," Gunn said. "But the issues are important. I think we need to address things that we're not addressing, and I don't think we need to turn back the clock and go back to ways that were clearly errant ways at the time."

Gunn considered voting for Amy Klobuchar, who, despite dropping out of the race before Super Tuesday, was still on the ballot in Virginia.

"She seems very intelligent, and it's good to see a woman maybe get that high office for a change," Gunn said. "I thought she was pretty even-keeled and level-headed. I thought she was more moderate than too far one way or the other. I like Joe Biden. I think he got off to a rough start. I'm hoping he can rebound a little bit."

At South Lakes High School in Reston, it was a big day for Ruby Regis. The 17-year-old high school student will turn 18 before the November general election, so Tuesday was her first chance to exercise her right to vote.

"I'm really excited," she said. "I'm really happy to finally be able to partake in such a monumental election. I feel like I'm able to make an impact, even if it is small. I think that I'm able to do a lot doing my civic duty."

For Regis, Sanders was the candidate she found most appealing.

"I really feel like he would make a good president," she said. "I really like his stances on global warming and the economy."

Reston resident Gail Hamblin came out to vote for Biden. "He has the experience," she said.

At the polls in Herndon, Justin Hvitfeldt Matthews had a very clear mission on Tuesday.

"The candidate is Joe Biden, and the issue is beating Donald Trump," he said. "I think that there is more than one candidate who can do that, but he's the one I most connect to."

Brian Morris of Alexandria saw Biden as the better choice. "I think he has the better ideas for my demographic, for what I'm looking for in a president," he said. He cited Biden's stance on the environment, foreign policy and spending. Morris says he agrees with Sanders for the most part, but he can't get behind the candidate's tuition-free college plan. He'd prefer a low-interest loan program that could be paid back once a person is employed or through an option like government service.

Mary Lauer also voted for Biden at her Alexandria polling place. "We need somebody who can bring the party together and not be a disrupter," she said.

Her top priority is seeing Trump be defeated in December, and her top policy issue is health care. She will vote for any candidate running against Trump — even Sanders — when it comes time for the November election.

Going into Super Tuesday, there are 60 delegates for Sanders, 54 for Biden, 26 for Buttigieg, eight for Warren and seven for Klobuchar.

Before you head to the polls, check your voter registration status and polling place on the Virginia Department of Elections website. An acceptable form of photo identification is required to vote in Virginia.

See live Democratic presidential primary results below after the polls closed in Virginia.

Virginia has 99 delegates up for grabs, the fourth highest count among the states with Super Tuesday primary elections. A total of 1,357 pledged delegates will be awarded on Super Tuesday, representing 34 percent of all delegates. California leads the pack with 415 delegates, followed by Texas with 228 and North Carolina with 110. Delegates will select the Democratic nominee at the Democratic National Convention in July; a candidate will need to secure 1,991 delegates to win the nomination.

The Republican Party, which does not have a presidential primary election in Virginia, will hold the Republican National Convention in August.

While candidates are eyeing delegate-rich California and Texas for key victories, there were campaign stops in Virginia. Biden earned endorsements from Sen. Tim Kaine and former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who both joined the candidate at a Norfolk rally on Sunday. Sanders held three Virginia rallies up to the weekend before Super Tuesday, including one with Rep. Ilhan Omar in Springfield.

Warren is looking to win her first state on Super Tuesday. She held a town hall in Arlington back in mid-February following a fourth-place finish with no delegates in New Hampshire.

At the Sterling precinct in Loudoun County, Leah Habron told Patch she voted for Warren because she likes her stance on most of the issues and believes she would succeed in getting certain policy priorities implemented.

"I do really like Bernie, but I think he’s a little too far out there," she said.

Other voters in Loudoun County wanted to vote for Warren or Klobuchar — before she dropped out of the race — but decided against it because they worried Trump would have viciously attacked them during the general election.

"I would vote for one of the women, but Trump would mess them up completely like he did Hillary. I didn’t want them to be torn down," Helen Cook, who voted for Biden at the Sterling precinct, told Patch.

At the Park View precinct in Loudoun, Toni Keys said she voted for Bloomberg. "I liked Elizabeth Warren. But she’s a woman and Trump is going to tear her apart. I don’t think she should have to go through that. Bloomberg has the strength to withstand that," Key said.

Laura Shie, who voted at the Sterling precinct with her husband, Duane, cast a ballot for Klobuchar, even though the Minnesota senator dropped out of the race on Monday. Shie expressed anger that Klobochar and Buttigieg dropped out so close to the Super Tuesday primaries.

"All the people I contemplated voting for have dropped out," Shie said. "I think that’s nasty. They could have waited two more days."

Duane Shie said he voted for Biden. "I like everything about Biden except he’s my age," he said, noting that all of the major candidates left in the Democratic race are 70 or older.

Few older voters interviewed by Patch said they voted for Sanders. "The older generation sees Biden and associates him with Obama," said Christina Sheppard, a Sanders supporter who voted at the Sterling precinct. "Even though he’s old, Bernie has really good energy that young people can rally behind."

Austin Alvarenga, a college student voting in his first presidential primary at the Sterling precinct, supports Sanders, particularly the Vermont senator's stance on higher education. "I don’t necessarily believe college should be free, but it should at least be cheaper. He’s going in the right direction," said Alvarenga, who is majoring in music education at Northern Virginia Community College. "I come from a family where we don’t have much money. So college is very much a privilege. I saved up enough money to go to college."

Bloomberg has not won any delegates but has advertised and campaigned in Virginia and other Super Tuesday states. He spoke at a "Women for Mike" event Saturday in Tysons.

Virginia voters saw candidates who dropped out of the race on their ballot, because 14 Democratic candidates qualified for the state's presidential primary. Candidates no longer in the running were Cory Booker, Julián Castro, Marianne Williamson, Michael Bennet, Amy Klobuchar, Deval Patrick, Pete Buttigieg and Andrew Yang.

Biden emerged as the leading Democratic candidate in some of the most recent Virginia polls. A new Swayable poll had Biden at 36 percent and Sanders at 20 percent. Two Data for Progress polls had different candidates leading: the most recent one had Biden leading with 39 percent, and another had Sanders in the lead with 28 percent. Monmouth University's poll saw Bloomberg and Sanders tied at 22 percent, followed by Biden at 18 percent.

Virginia voters are not registered by party, so any registered voter can cast a ballot in the Democratic presidential primary. Voters who do not bring a photo ID can cast a provisional ballot and follow instructions provided by an election officer so their vote counts.

Virginia Patch editors Mark Hand and Michael O'Connell contributed to this report.