The Democratic Party Super Tuesday winners, state by state

Election judges sort ballots at the Jeffco Elections Division in Golden, Colorado on Super Tuesday, March 3, 2020. – Fourteen states and American Samoa are holding presidential primary elections, with over 1400 delegates at stake. Americans vote Tuesday in primaries that play a major role in who will challenge Donald Trump for the presidency, a day after key endorsements dramatically boosted Joe Biden’s hopes against surging leftist Bernie Sanders. The backing of Biden by three of his ex-rivals marked an unprecedented turn in a fractured, often bitter campaign. (Photo by Jason Connolly / AFP)

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Former vice president Joe Biden established a strong lead over Senator Bernie Sanders in the Super Tuesday contests to pick the Democratic challenger to President Donald Trump this November.

Among the 14 states at play, US networks have so far projected seven wins for Biden, with his string of victories in the country’s south demonstrating his strong support among African Americans, according to exit polls.

Leftist Sanders has three victories so far: his home state of Vermont, and Colorado and Utah in the west. He has lost in Minnesota and Oklahoma, where he handily defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016.

But the biggest prizes of the night are yet to come: delegate-rich California, where the self-described socialist is a strong favorite, and Texas.

A total of 1,357 delegates are at stake on Tuesday, about a third of the overall national total.

Biden, who has the backing of his party’s establishment, also appeared to have profited from the endorsements of former centrist rivals including Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg, who dropped out in the run-up to the races.

Biden:

Alabama

Arkansas

Minnesota

North Carolina

Oklahoma

Tennessee

Virginia

Sanders:

Colorado

Utah

Vermont

© Agence France-Presse