USNews.com

Joe Biden won the Democratic primary in Texas, notching a surprising first-place finish in a contest that Bernie Sanders was expected to take and adding the delegate-rich state to the former vice president's streak of victories in the South on Super Tuesday. Biden narrowly defeated the Vermont senator, his biggest competitor, as well as former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg in a race that saw the release of results pushed into early Wednesday. Hours after polls closed in Texas, some voters still waited to cast their ballots, according to The New York Times. Sanders and Bloomberg made the largest investments in Texas' primary, but Biden's rapid rise over the past few days ended up carrying him over the finish line. Texas proportionally awards 228 pledged delegates – the second-largest delegate haul of the 14 Super Tuesday contests.