Joe Biden’s bid to become the US Democratic presidential candidate received a major boost on Super Tuesday as he won nine of the 14 states that voted, putting frontrunner Bernie Sanders under pressure.
Biden, the former US vice-president under the Obama administration, was the winner in the states of Texas, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee and Virginia.
Speaking in Los Angeles, Biden said: "We are very much alive. Make no mistake about it, this campaign will send Donald Trump packing."
Some states are yet to formally declare results, but Biden has edged ahead in the reckoning, having secured 402 delegates to Sanders’ 314 at the time of writing.
However, Sanders is predicted to win three other states and the state of California, the latter of which would add 415 extra delegates to his total alone.
A majority of 1,991 delegates is needed to win the contest to become the party candidate.
Nonetheless, Biden’s Super Tuesday performance has propelled him well into the reckoning to become the Democratic candidate to face Republican president Donald Trump in November’s election.
Former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg was competing in a primary contest for the first time, but only won in the overseas US territory of American Samoa, despite securing enough votes to accumulate some delegates in California and Texas.
Elizabeth Warren, another contender for the Democratic candidacy, suffered a huge blow in her home state of Massachusetts after Biden pulled off a comfortable victory there.
Some of Sanders’ notable victories include his home state of Vermont, as well as Colorado and Utah.
In a speech, Sanders took aim at Biden, now his main candidacy rival, saying: "We're taking on the political establishment. You cannot beat Trump with the same-old, same-old kind of politics."
