Former US vice president Joe Biden is continuing his strong comeback in the primaries for the Democratic party nomination for president on Super Tuesday, one of the key dates in the process.
Democratic voters in 14 states vote on Super Tuesday to pick their preferred contender for the presidential nomination.
By 9.40am IST, Biden had won 8 of 14 states, while Senator Bernie Sanders had won four, including California, the biggest state in the country. Biden effectively swept the southern states, winning Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee and North Carolina as well as Minnesota, Oklahoma and Massachusetts. Sanders won his home state of Vermont, Utah, Colorado and California.
Senator Elizabeth Warren had a poor time in her home state, Massachusetts, raising questions about the viability of her campaign.
Results from only two states remain: Maine and Texas. In Texas, Sanders had a four per cent lead over Biden, with 31 per cent of the precincts reporting.
According to the Los Angeles Times, "Under rules established by the Democratic Party, delegates [in each state] were allotted on a percentage basis, based on a candidate’s performance at both the statewide and congressional district levels. In each, candidates needed to meet a 15% threshold of support.”
Bloomberg to reassess campaign
Meanwhile, media mogul and former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg, who is also contesting in Super Tuesday, will reassess his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday, NBC News reported.
Politico magazine reported Mike Bloomberg "is weighing dropping out as early as Wednesday after losing a string of Super Tuesday states where he invested a fortune in advertising, according to several people familiar with his plans". While the Bloomberg campaign was tight-lipped about its plans, Politico quoted sources as saying "a decision to exit the race is all but certain. He is flying back to New York City Tuesday night; one person said Wednesday would be 'a day of reckoning'".
Bloomberg has had a poor showing so far, winning only the tiny territory of American Samoa.
Bloomberg had stayed out of the first four primaries and had spent about $500 million in the states voting on Super Tuesday.
