- Joe Biden cruised to victory in Missouri's Democratic presidential primary, according to Decision Desk HQ.
- The polls in Missouri have officially closed at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT).
- Former Vice President Joe Biden, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard will face off on March 10 for the Democratic nomination.
- Missouri has become a presidential bellwether, having voted for the ultimate winner in all but three US presidential elections since 1904.
- We'll have up-to-the-minute live vote counts and results happening in real time updating automatically.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Former Vice President Joe Biden clinched a decisive win in Missouri's Democratic presidential primary against Bernie Sanders, according to projections from Decisions Desk HQ.
Biden's easy victory did not come as a surprise — after dominating Super Tuesday the former Vice President gained huge momentum going into today's Democratic primaries. Biden rode on these successes to secure Mississippi's presidential primaries as well.
Before polls opened on March 10, Biden was projected to sweep Missouri's Democratic presidential primary with a 95% chance at winning most of the pledged delegates — and he delivered.
With 68 pledged delegates up for grabs, Biden's solid win will further strengthen his existing lead on the Vermont Senator for the 2020 Democratic nomination. Before the March 10 primaries, Biden had earned 632 delegates compared to Sanders' 536.
Missouri Democratic primary results:
Catch up on live coverage from the primary:
Pre-primary:
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Here's how Democrats will elect their presidential nominee over the next several months
What's at stake in the primary?
Missouri has an allocated 78 Democratic delegates, including 68 pledged delegates and 10 superdelegates. Missouri's eight congressional districts will determine how 44 of the pledged delegates will be allocated, while the remaining 24 pledged delegates will be determined by the statewide vote.
The Missouri Democratic Party announced in a memo that it would only be providing delegate estimates on election night because Missouri's Republican-held secretary of state's office has declined to break down Tuesday's popular vote by congressional district, meaning 44 of the pledged delegates might not be known until weeks after Tuesday's primary, according to the St. Louis Dispatch.
Missouri will also be one to watch as its primaries are open, meaning that any voter, no matter their affiliation, can cast a ballot for either party.
With Donald Trump's 2020 presidential bid all but assured, Missouri Republicans could choose to vote whichever Democratic candidate they'd prefer to see Trump against — an issue that has been raised by local news outlets and state politicians. Voters in the state overwhelmingly support President Donald Trump, who won 56.4% of the vote in the 2016 presidential election.
As in most other states, candidates must earn over 15% of the vote in a given district or statewide to earn any delegates. While Democrat's pledged delegates are assigned proportionally to the vote, Republican delegates function on a winner-takes-all system if a candidate secures more than half of the vote.
Political pundits have closely watched Missouri's elections over the years for its uncanny historical accuracy of voting the winner of presidential contests.
The battleground state has become known as a presidential bellwether for voting for the ultimate winner in all but three US presidential elections since 1904. In recent years, the Midwestern state has trended red, with Republicans winning the state in the past five presidential cycles. During the 2018 midterms, the GOP celebrated a huge win, flipping Missouri's US Senate seat.
Who did the polling say was ahead?
Both FiveThirtyEight's average of the latest polling data and its primary election forecast favor former Vice President Joe Biden to win big in the Missouri primaries.
As of March 9, FiveThirtyEight's polling data revealed that Biden is the Democratic front-runner by a long shot, carrying 54.7% of voters. Sanders was the runner-up with 30.6% and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard polled just above 1%.
Biden is predicted to win an average of 42 pledged delegates out of 68 possible delegates in Missouri, with a 96% chance of winning most of the votes in the state, according to FiveThirtyEight's primary election forecast. While Biden has a 19 in 20 chance of winning most of the pledged delegates (95%), Sanders has only 1 in 15 (6%).
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