Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has been declared the winner in the Utah Democratic primary by the Associated Press. With 59% of precincts reporting, Sanders had garnered just above 32% of the vote at time of publication Tuesday night.
The New York Times forecast has predicted Sanders will grab about 13 of Utah’s 29 delegates. Mike Bloomberg held on to second place with 19% of the vote. Joe Biden followed in third place holding a slim lead over Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Sanders took to Twitter to thank his Utah supporters.
Thank you Utah! https://t.co/S7XXSCUNLJ
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 4, 2020
Sanders won big in the 2016 Democratic caucuses here, garnering 79% of the vote. He consistently polled as the front-runner in the leadup to the 2020 primary.
Sanders’ Utah campaign headquarters in West Valley City erupted in cheers as he was declared the projected winner.
“[I’m] impressed not surprised,” said 21-year-old Brandon Ong. “It made me extremely happy to just have it official.”
At a watch party hosted by the Young Democrats of Utah in a downtown Salt Lake City restaurant Tuesday night, Katie Lynn Adams-Anderton applauded Sanders for rising to the top of a crowded field.
“In all his years of being in politics, he has a tried and true track record of not being corruptible,” Adams-Anderton said. “That is something that's so rare in politics. So I like that.”
This is Utah’s first time voting on Super Tuesday, which made the state more of a priority for some presidential hopefuls. Mike Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard have all made campaign stops here. Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden have not.
“I do like the fact that we're being put with states like California and Tennessee and being put on a more national level, because sometimes Utahns get missed,” Adams-Anderton said.
Buttigieg, who ended his campaign over the weekend, garnered 10% of the vote and Klobuchar, who campaigned in Utah on the Monday before Super Tuesday, right before dropping out of the race, got about 5%.
