Bernie Sanders Wins California Primary; Biden Surges Nationwide
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/AP) -- Senator Bernie Sanders won the biggest Super Tuesday prize: most of Californians' votes, which landed him some much needed delegates in the state with the most, according to several projections.
His opponent Joe Biden strongly swept through the South and parts of the Midwest, gathering the most delegates by far on Tuesday night.
In California as of 9 p.m., Sanders had amassed 28% of the vote with 9% of precincts reporting. Sanders' campaign announced that he won on Instagram late Tuesday evening.
But Biden won the night's second biggest prize: Texas. He had 33% of the vote with 82% of precincts reporting at 11 p.m.
The two Democrats, lifelong politicians with starkly different visions for America's future, were battling for delegates as 14 states and one U.S. territory held a series of high-stakes elections that marked the most significant day of voting in the party's 2020 presidential nomination fight.
- CAMPAIGN 2020: California Presidential Primary Results
The clash between Biden and Sanders, each leading coalitions of disparate demographics and political beliefs, peaked on a day that could determine whether the Democratic battle will stretch all the way to the July convention or be decided much sooner.
The former vice president and the three-term senator took aim at each other from dueling victory speeches separated by 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) Tuesday night.
"People are talking about a revolution. We started a movement," Biden charged in Los Angeles, knocking one of Sanders' signature lines.
And without citing his surging rival by name, Sanders swiped at Biden from a victory speech in Burlington, Vermont.
"You cannot beat Trump with the same-old, same-old kind of politics," Sanders declared, ticking down a list of past policy differences with Biden on Social Security, trade and military force. "This will become a contrast in ideas."
© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
