Bernie Sanders declared winner in California, the most delegate-rich state in the nation

Mar. 4--Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders won California's presidential primary election, giving him a lift heading into later states in his quest to fend off former Vice President Joe Biden, former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

The self-described democratic socialist found fertile ground for his populist agenda in California, where he secured strong support from Latinos and young people.

While it will take several weeks for counties to report the full results that determine how many delegates the top candidates receive, the Associated Press declared Sanders the overall winner shortly after California polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, and his campaign declared victory.

Returns Tuesday night showed Biden, Warren and Bloomberg fighting to secure at least 15 percent support statewide. Shortly after 11 p.m., Sanders led with 30 percent of the vote, followed by Biden at 20 percent, Bloomberg at 17 percent and Warren at 12 percent.

California offers candidates 415 pledged delegates, more than any other in the nation.

Sanders made his final California pitch to raucous crowds in San Jose and Los Angeles over the weekend. He spent election night in his home state of Vermont, where he celebrated with supporters and vowed to defeat Republican President Donald Trump in November.

"We are going to defeat Trump because we are putting together an unprecedented, grassroots, multi-generational, multiracial movement," Sanders said. "It is a movement which speaks to the working families of this country."

All four top candidates appear likely to pick up at least some delegates, which include 144 awarded from statewide results and 271 based on performance in the state's 53 congressional districts.

Sanders campaigned in liberal California on a bold set of ideas that critics found costly and unrealistic and his supporters found necessary.

"We tried moderate last time, and this is where we are," said Annie Stepka, a health care worker who attended Sanders' San Jose rally. "I think we've tried fronting a moderate candidate, and it landed us with Trump. We've got to go as far as we can."

Sanders continues to push for a single-payer, government-run health care system similar to Medicare that would cover all U.S. residents and abolish private health insurance. Sanders has also championed a $15 minimum wage, free tuition for all at public colleges and universities and a so-called Green New Deal that would ban fracking and wean the country from fossil fuels.

Biden argues that the country is not looking for the "revolution" Sanders is promoting. Instead, he insists that a more practical set of policies will win over moderate Democrats and help him carry swing states like Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that went for President Donald Trump in 2016.

Biden appealed to middle class voters during a speech in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, highlighting his health care, environment and gun control policies.

"People are talking about a revolution. We've started a movement... Our agenda is bold, it's progressive," Biden said. "Wall Street didn't build this country, you built this country. The middle class built this country."

California lawmakers have been slow to warm up to Biden, though moderate House Democrats Gil Cisneros of Phelan and Jerry McNerney of Stockton decided to support him on Monday. California Sen. Kamala Harris and Gov. Gavin Newsom have not yet endorsed one of the remaining candidates.

Sanders can credit much of his success in the state to the massive operation he assembled well before Super Tuesday. By mid-February, his team had 22 offices and 105 paid staff members in California -- the largest ground game in the state with the exception of Bloomberg, who entered the race in late-November and since spent tens of millions of dollars in the state on television ads.

Sanders' campaign announced minutes before polls were scheduled to close in California that it filed a complaint to prevent polling locations in Los Angeles County from closing at 8 p.m. California law requires poll locations to stay open as long as people are still in line.

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