SALT LAKE CITY — The latest election totals show Bernie Sanders will capture the majority of Democratic delegates in Utah after Super Tuesday.
But overnight results show Joe Biden moved up to beat Mike Bloomberg (who has now dropped out of the race). Elizabeth Warren has also achieved viability, which under Utah Democratic Party rules, mean she could get an allotment of delegates.
Utah Democratic Party Chairman Jeff Merchant told FOX 13 the party could know as soon as Thursday how its 29 delegates are divvied up. He said 15% of the vote gives a candidate viability, but the delegates are divided based on a formula of congressional districts, at-large and political leadership posts.
In the GOP primary, President Trump won handily.
Here's the latest results so far:
Utah's first formal entry into Super Tuesday brought record-breaking voter turnout. As of Tuesday night, more than 515,129 ballots had been cast and active voter participation was 35%. That is the highest of any primary, the Lt. Governor's Office said.
Utah broke from the traditional caucus last year and moved its presidential primary up to join other states on Super Tuesday thanks to a bill run by Rep. Patrice Arent, D-Millcreek, and Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo. The bill was run after complaints that Utah was an "afterthought" for presidential candidates.
This year, the candidates spent significant amounts of money campaigning here. They also visited. Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Michael Bloomberg and Elizabeth Warren made stops as they courted voters.
"People are really happy because Utah is a player," Rep. Arent said in an interview with FOX 13 on Tuesday. "Candidates are coming here, they’re paying attention to Utah. There’s a little frustration from those who voted early. I’d like to see ranked choice voting in the future to solve that problem."
