Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders is the projected winner of the California primary. Sanders held a double point lead over former Vice President Joe Biden in the Golden State heading into Super Tuesday. While Sanders is the projected winner, official results are not expected for the next several days or even weeks. Some 415 delegates are up for grabs in the most populous state of the union.
As long as a candidate wins at least 15 percent of the vote, they can look forward to getting their hands on some number of California's 144 statewide delegates. Additionally, 271 pledged delegates will be awarded based on the results of each one of California's 53 congressional districts. The presidential candidates must still cross the viability threshold of 15 percent in each district in order to pick up delegates. Given the size and diversity of the state, it is likely the congressional districts will have varying preferences when it comes to rank-ordering the candidates, and the official delegate count could be weeks away.
A large number of California's more than 20 million registered voters were expected to mail-in ballots this year, and, unlike many other states, California accepts ballots that are postmarked on or before election day so long as the ballots arrive at the county election office no later than Friday, according to the Los Angeles Times. County election officials then have 30 days to count every valid ballot and conduct any necessary audits.
Sanders lost California to Hillary Clinton in 2016. Now, the amount of delegates Sanders gets from the state could play a big role in deciding whether Sanders of Biden end up with the nomination. The Biden campaign has made a comeback since winning the South Carolina primary last Saturday.
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