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Bernie Sanders has won the Democratic primary in Vermont , the northeastern state where he spent most of his iconic political career.
In a move that was widely expected but will nevertheless be welcomed by the senator and supporters, the 78-year-old was declared the winner within moments of polls closing at 7pm local time.
The state of Vermont, where the the democratic socialist began his career in electoral politics after he became the mayor of Burlington in 1981, has just three electoral college votes and 16 delegates
However, it was a satisfying way for the senator to start Super Tuesday’s anxious game of watch and wait, as he and his campaign got ready to see how far his momentum – helped by wins in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada – can carry him across the country.
That momentum was interrupted by the performance of Joe Biden, who won a landslide in South Carolina over the weekend, a victory that kicked new life into his campaign.
It also saw the likes of Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar end their campaigns, and endorse that of the former vice president.
In his first projected victory of the night, US media predicted the 77-year-old Mr Biden was going to win Virginia, which has 99 delegates and 13 electoral college votes in the general election.
Television cameras showed Mr Sanders’s supporters in Vermont, cheering as the projection hit the TV screens.
Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 statesShow all 29 1 /29Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states An anti-dairy protester is led away after storming the stage at Joe Biden's Super Tuesday event in Los Angeles, California
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Supporters of Bernie Sanders cheer as results are announced at a Super Tuesday party in Texas
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Supporters of Joe Biden hold up an election pooster from Barack Obama's 2008 run at a Super Tuesday event for the Democratic contender
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Bernie Sander takes to the stage before supporters during his Super Tuesday event in Vermont
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Supporters of Bernie Sanders cheer as results are announced at a Super Tuesday party in Texas
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Supporters of Bernie Sanders cheer as results are announced at a watch party in Texas
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Joe Biden gestures to suppporters at a Super Tuesday event for the Democratic contender
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Elizabeth Warren waves to supporters at a rally in Michigan as results come in following Super Tuesday
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states A spray painted mural of presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders on the side of a building in Kirby, Vernont
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Supporters of Bernie Sandes cheer at a Super Tuesday rally in Vermont
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Supporters of Elizabeth Warren hold sings and cheer in Cambridge
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren leaves the voting booth at the Graham & Parks School in Cambridge, Massachusetts
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states A poster for sale at a rally for Bernie Sanders on Super Tuesday in Vermont
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Democratic voter Elliot Zaagman wears a protective mask as he poses for a photo after casting his ballot in Bangkok, Thailand
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Daisy, a Golden Retriever, outside a polling in San Diego. 1,357 Democratic delegates are at stake as voters cast their ballots in 14 states and American Samoa on what is known as Super Tuesday
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (greets fellow voters after casting his ballot in his state's primary election at the Robert Miller Community Center in Burlington, Vermont
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states A first time voter stands behind a voting booth in a polling location for the North Carolina primary
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg takes part in his Super Tuesday night rally in West Palm Beach, Florida
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Fourteen states are holding their primaries with more than one third of the total pledged delegates in the Democratic primaries to be awarded on Super Tuesday
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren and her husband Bruce Mann greet supporters as they walk to a polling site to vote on Super Tuesday in Cambridge, Massachusett
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Voters cast their ballots at a polling location inside an elementary school on Super Tuesday in Minneapolis, Minnesota
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Democratic voter Le'ana Freeman poses for a photo after casting her ballot at a polling station in Bangkok
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Voters arrive to cast their ballots at a polling location inside Hunter House at Nottoway Park in Vienna
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Democrat Jamie Wilson gets a sticker after voting in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states A Polling Place sign in the border town of Hidalgo, Texas
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states A girl carries her mothers ballot to the table where she will fill in her choice at the Taylor Elementary School polling location in Arlington
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states A man wearing an 'I Voted' sticker and a 'Bernie Abroad' badge after voting in the American presidential primary in Oxford, England
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Super Tuesday: Lively scenes as results flood in across 14 states Stickers for people who vote
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