Super Tuesday is finally here: Polls are open in Virginia until 7 p.m. — and that means it’s time for millions to weigh in on their choice to be the Democratic nominee for president.
Learn how to find your polling place and read more about the candidates at the links below.
- Virginia 2020 presidential primary voting guide: Everything you need to know
- 2020 election guide: The Dem contenders vying to unseat Trump
- 5 key questions ahead of critical Super Tuesday primaries
Voters throughout Virginia weren’t asked who they voted for, but why.
Rebecca South, of Falls Church, voted herself and brought her daughter Rachael South, 18, to vote for the first time. “There are so many things in the balance that are going to impact the trajectory of where the country is going,” Rebecca South said.
Rachael said, “I’ve been paying attention to elections in the past, but I haven’t been able to have a say in it,” she said. “I’m interested to see if my vote does anything.”
Lanson Wood said he was feeling “more and more encouraged” about the election. His biggest issue was “restoring normalcy back to this country. That’s the issue. Whatever it takes.”
Jennifer Knouse, of Falls Church, was at the polls with her husband, Craig, and their son Vincent. Speaking of Vincent, she said, “He’s the one that’s going to be affected by the decisions we make today.”
“The goal is to get our electable candidate who will beat Trump,” said Robbie Healy III, of Falls Church. “And if that means voting for someone I don’t feel is the best candidate, that’s what I’ll do.”
His father, Rob Healy Jr., said, “I’ve worked in politics all my life, and you have to choose among the alternatives.”
Their message to the electorate? “Get out and vote. Get your voice heard.”
Exit poll
An early exit poll from CBS News found that a majority of Virginia voters thought the ability to beat President Donald Trump was the most important factor, at 56%, while only 41% said agreeing with the candidate on the major issues was the most important thing.
Almost half of Virginia voters — 47% — made up their minds in the last few days, while 53% made their decision earlier than that., the CBS poll found: About 55% of Virginia’s voters said the novel coronavirus was an important factor in their decision, while 42 percent said it was not.
On the issues, the poll found that 44% of Virginia voters wanted the next president’s policies to return to those of former President Barack Obama, while 31% the next president should be more liberal and 17% should be more conservative.
Early turnout
It’s hard to compare turnout with previous elections, since the situation of a Republican incumbent and a Democratic primary hasn’t happened since 2004. But some boards of elections have released preliminary numbers.
Alexandria was at 28.66% turnout at 4 p.m. (31.91% when including absentee voting), while Fairfax County was at about 20%. Falls Church was at around 30% by 1 p.m.
Poll workers at Langley High School in McLean were up bright up and early — and according to Democratic precinct captain Nancy Fatemi, so were the voters.
“We’re having an amazing turnout this morning … I’ve never seen so many people vote so early, it’s remarkable, people are revved up and committed,” Fatemi told WTOP’s Melissa Howell, while welcoming early birds outside the school, one of her precinct’s largest voting locations.
Jeanne Faubell, an election official in Fairfax County, told WTOP that accessibility is no barrier to voting. “Please realize there is curbside voting in Fairfax County,” she said: There’s a sandwich board in front of each polling place with a phone number on it, and if you call the number, someone will come out, take your ID and bring back your ballot.
Though they’ll still appear on the Virginia ballot, Democratic candidates Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer all dropped out within days of each other, with Buttigieg and Klobuchar throwing their weight behind Joe Biden in a move likely to bolster the former vice president’s momentum after South Carolina.
While she did not voice support for a specific candidate, Fatemi sees the consolidation of moderates as a move toward party unity that will help the party’s odds of defeating President Trump in November.
“I think the fact that Democrats are coalescing around one candidate — Joe Biden — is very healthy, and it shows that when the candidates said the main thing we have to do is defeat Donald Trump, they meant it,” Fatemi said. “They withdrew from the race, and that’s to their credit.”
At 1PM, Loudoun County reported 13.5% turnout (combined in-person and absentee). No comparable number for 1PM is available for 2016. But Loudoun’s final turnout in the 2016 Dem presidential primary was 17.4%
— vpapupdates (@vpapupdates) March 3, 2020
Already, about 30,000 Virginians have cast ballots through in-person and mail-in absentee voting.
The national picture
All told, 14 states are voting Tuesday. In addition to Virginia, other states voting are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Vermont. American Samoa is also holding a caucus.
There’s a total of 1,357 delegates up for grabs — 99 of them in Virginia.
Other states with big delegate hauls include California, which will award 415 delegates; Texas, which will award 228; and North Carolina, which will award 110.
Only a handful of states have voted so far, and Super Tuesday is expected to be a turning point.
Former Vice President Joe Biden heads into Tuesday buoyed by his recent big win in South Carolina. He has also racked up endorsements from key public officials in the state, including former Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Sen. Tim Kaine, the party’s 2016 vice presidential candidate.
A survey by Christopher Newport University’s Wason Center for Public Policy, released before the South Carolina primary, showed Biden leading Sen. Bernie Sanders among likely voters in the commonwealth — 22% to 17%. (See all the Democratic candidates running for president).
An earlier poll from Monmouth University showed Sanders and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg leading.
WTOP’s Kristi King, Melissa Howell and Max Smith contributed to this report.
WTOP will have a team of reporters covering Super Tuesday throughout the day and will have live results throughout the evening with WTOP’s Dimitri Sotis and Del Walters. WTOP’s Max Smith will be manning the election desk all night, and WTOP Capitol Hill Correspondent Mitchell Miller will have additional background on the elections.
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