MA 2016 Democratic Presidential Primary Full Results: Clinton Edges Sanders on Super Tuesday

BOSTON, MA - Hillary Clinton battled Bernie Sanders to a narrow victory after an hours-long tussle in Massachusetts' Super Tuesday contest that officially ended shortly before midnight.

The Associated Press called the race in Clinton's favor nearly four hours after polls closed Tuesday. With more than 97 percent of precincts reporting Wednesday morning, Clinton held onto a margin of victory just under three points, taking 50.3 percent of the Democratic vote to Sanders' 48.5 percent.

The high-turnout Super Tuesday election is another blow to Vermont's democratic socialist senator in a state that was considered a must-win. Clinton scored victories in Texas, Alabama, Tennessee and others early in the night.

Sanders has won Oklahoma, Colorado, Minnesota and his home state of Vermont. Couple that with Sanders' high fundraising numbers, and his campaign is pushing forward to the upcoming winner-take-all primaries, despite a narrow path to victory.

Exit polls show young voters turned out for Sanders in Massachusetts as in other states, but not in sufficient force to edge out Clinton. The gender gap favored the former secretary of state, winning by 15 points among women, who made up the majority of Bay State Democrats, according to early exit polls.

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• ALSO: What to watch for in Massachusetts primary

View from the polls

Early Tuesday morning, one Beacon Hill polling station was already busy, with a line of mostly younger voters snaking their way around the West End Library foyer and past the sign-in tables, many with smartphone and coffee in hand. One Sanders supporter walking down Cambridge Street hoisted a paper bag from Dunkin’ Donuts and a large coffee, joking, “We need to fuel the grassroots movement.”

In Woburn, resident Christopher Titus left the polls Tuesday afternoon with a prediction on how his town will lean.

“I’m thinking Hillary Clinton and... almost hate to say his name,” he said, after a pause. “Trump.”

Early numbers suggest Titus’ prediction will bear out for both on a statewide basis. It comes down to turnout, which Secretary of State Bill Galvin has said could potentially be record-breaking.

Turnout predictions, as of 7:00 p.m.

In Massachusetts, the Democratic vote is concentrated in Boston. There, turnout was on pace to surpass the 2008 primary election record, with more than 120,000 votes cast as of 7:00 p.m. This points to a potentially record-breaking turnout in the state overall, as the president of MassINC Polling observed earlier in the day.

If our projections hold, 2016 would be a new record in MA Presidential primary turnout, possibly by a lot. pic.twitter.com/pvvmVmAWGC

— Steve Koczela (@skoczela) March 1, 2016

Unenrolled voters

Of the state’s 4.3 million enrolled voters, almost 2.3 million are unenrolled in a party, meaning they could vote in either the Republican or Democratic primary. Polls show Sen. Sanders faces a tough road, but strong turnout from Massachusetts’ unenrolled voters could swing the race his way.

Galvin told reporters many Democrats have left the party to become unenrolled (or even switch to a Republican voting designation) in the days before the primary. If those voters gravitate to the GOP race, it could bode ill for Sanders.

Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore, Flickr, used under Creative Commons