Voters in 14 states and one territory cast their ballots on Super Tuesday, tweeting and blogging along the way.
Why it matters: The huge delegate hauls of California and Texas this year make the day about as close as the U.S. gets to a national presidential primary.
LOS ANGELES — Joe Biden made a last-minute push across California on Super Tuesday, hitting Oakland and dispatching his wife to San Diego before they end the day in Los Angeles — home to the only advertised Biden campaign field office in the largest state in the country.
Why it matters: While Biden is hoping to build a comeback on his blowout win in South Carolina, nearly one-third of the delegates up for grabs in tonight's Super Tuesday contests vote here in California. Bernie Sanders, who narrowly lost the state to Hillary Clinton in 2016, has been dominating the state's polls.
14 states and one U.S. territory will vote in Democratic primary contests today, rocketing the total number of pledged delegates allotted from 5% to 38%.
Why it matters: With a total of 1,357 delegates up for grabs, Super Tuesday has the potential to definitively shape the remaining three months of primaries by giving one candidate an insurmountable lead. 1,991 delegates are needed to clinch the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in July.
Former Vice President Joe Biden has earned endorsements from a string of prominent Democrats in the hours leading up to Super Tuesday, where wins in huge delegate states like California and Texas could drastically change the trajectory of the 2020 race.
Driving the news: Two former Obama administration officials — former UN Ambassador Samantha Power and former White House chief of staff Denis McDonough — endorsed Biden on Tuesday.
The big picture: While President Trump has often threatened to sue news organizations for libel, he rarely followed through until last week — when his campaign filed a similar suit against the New York Times.
The publication of former national security adviser John Bolton's book "The Room Where It Happened" has been delayed from March 17 until May as the White House continues to review the manuscript, CNN reports.
Why it matters: The memoir, which claims that President Trump linked Ukraine aid to investigations of his political rivals, was at the heart of Trump's impeachment inquiry — although Bolton ultimately never testified before the House or Senate. The Trump administration says that it is reviewing the book's content to ensure it does not endanger national security, though Bolton publicly worried last month that the White House may use the review process to suppress its publication.
Former FBI Director James Comey tweeted Tuesday that he voted for Joe Biden in the Democratic presidential primary, saying that "there is a reason Trump fears" the former vice president.
The state of play: Comey, a leading anti-Trump voice since his firing in 2017, said that he voted in his first Democratic primary "to support [the] party dedicated to restoring values" to the White House. He revealed in 2018 that he is no longer a Republican because the party "reflects now entirely Donald Trump’s values."
MIAMI, Fla. — Mike Bloomberg told reporters Tuesday that he has "no intention of dropping out" of the presidential race despite calls for Democratic moderates to coalesce around Joe Biden, adding that his path to the nomination depends on a contested convention.
Why it matters: Today's Super Tuesday contests are the first with Bloomberg's name on the ballot — marking the first measure of whether he has a real shot at the Democratic nomination.
While Joe Biden has surpassed Michael Bloomberg as the Democrat getting the second-most online attention, he comes nowhere close to Bernie Sanders, according to data from NewsWhip exclusively provided to Axios.
Why it matters: The numbers speak to an enthusiasm gap which will be a challenge for Biden to overcome — even if he's able to consolidate moderate support.
Journalists within the Voice of America (VOA) are pushing back on the idea that their reporting could fall prey to political influence by the Trump administration.
Why it matters: Top VOA executives are concerned that alarmist reporting, some from progressive outlets, may have prematurely undermined the credibility of the agency.
Several important oil- and gas-producing states vote today, none bigger than Texas, which produces vastly more crude than any other state — and nearly all countries for that matter.
The big picture: It also includes states like Colorado and Utah, which — unlike Texas — have lots of activity on federal lands that would be most affected by more restrictive policies.
Super Tuesday means it's the first primaries in the oil patch, so it's a good time to compare Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, who are battling for frontrunner status in the Democratic primary.
Why it matters: They have important differences on energy and climate policy, although both would restrict development and take a more adversarial posture toward fossil fuel industries than President Trump.
As part of our What Matters 2020 series on the critical trends that will outlive this moment, Axios co-founders Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen discuss the impact of artificial intelligence and robotics.
With Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg out of the 2020 U.S. presidential race, today's primaries will be a major test for Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.
Why it matters: For the markets, Sanders' economic policy proposals and anti-Wall Street rhetoric are seen as a major potential negative for the stock market and a good showing could put him one step closer to the Democratic party nomination and the presidency.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Politico that the nation's political polarization is forcing him to "walk the fine balance" of informing the public about the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak and combating misinformation — which can sometimes come from President Trump.
What he's saying: "You should never destroy your own credibility. And you don't want to go to war with a president. ... But you got to walk the fine balance of making sure you continue to tell the truth."
David Plouffe, President Obama's campaign manager in 2008, is out today with a pair of books — one for adults and one for young people — with the common theme: You can do this.
What they're saying: Plouffe told Axios the books are out on the same day because he's "hoping families will talk about what they can do to defeat Trump — and if parents and kids are both reading the respective books they can make the best plan together for the general election."
The superstar cities that already claim high shares of the U.S. digital services economy are only getting stronger, according to a new analysis by the Brookings Institution.
Why it matters: The tech industry's success along the coasts is not dispersing to other regions that have been passed over in terms of job creation, deepening America's already stark geographic divides.
The Bernie Sanders diehards packing his rallies would love to live in a world with Medicare for All, free college and higher taxes on the rich — but they mostly know that's a distant dream. Instead, they're fueled by the movement he's promising to build.
Why it matters: Sanders, on a delegate roll heading into today's 14-state Super Tuesday voting, is looking more and more like a liberal incarnation of Donald Trump circa 2016 — a cultural force who transcends party or policies.
Mike Bloomberg wants everyone to know he has no intention of getting elbowed out of the presidential race, even as fellow moderates are dropping out and endorsing Joe Biden.
The big picture: I spent yesterday with Bloomberg as he geared up for Super Tuesday — the first time his name is on the ballot.
Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden on stage at a rally in Dallas, Texas, Monday.
Driving the news: O'Rourke is the third former 2020 competitor to endorse Biden Monday. Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who dropped out of the race Sunday, also endorsed Biden at the rally. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who ended her campaign earlier Monday, did the same.
Former Vice President Joe Biden said that the 38-year-old Pete Buttigieg was reminiscent of his late son, Beau Biden, because he also "has a backbone ... like a ramrod," after Biden's former Democratic presidential rival endorsed him for president Monday.
Protesters rushed the floor at a Fox News town hall Monday night, screaming at Mike Bloomberg to "release the NDAs." As the chaos ensued, members of the audience began arguing over Bloomberg's stance on guns and abortion as Fox News cut to a commercial break.
Why it matters: Bloomberg, who will be on the ballot for the first time tomorrow during Super Tuesday, has been fighting off criticism over past misogynistic comments and outrage over nondisclosure agreements used at his company, Bloomberg LP — which has become a flashpoint of his campaign.
