Former Vice President Joe Biden notched a big win in Virginia’s Democratic presidential primary, earning a key early victory in Super Tuesday’s elections.

Biden held off a well-funded moderate in Michael Bloomberg and handed Sen. Bernie Sanders a defeat. The campaign has become a divisive fight over not just who gets to challenge President Donald Trump in November, but what direction the Democratic Party takes.

The Associated Press projected that Biden would win the Commonwealth moments after polls closed at 7 p.m. With all precincts reporting their results a couple hours later, Biden had 53 percent of the vote, to Sanders’ 23 percent. Sen. Elizabeth Warren came in third at 10.7 percent, while Bloomberg got 9.7 percent.

According to the Virginia Public Access Project, turnout stood at 23 percent — beating the state’s record set in 2008 for Super Tuesday Democratic turnout between then-presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

A ‘Resounding’ Victory

With 99 pledged delegates at stake, Virginia had the fourth-largest delegate haul among the 14 states voting Tuesday. Biden’s win there gives his once-struggling candidacy another boost following his strong victory in South Carolina on Saturday. And like his performance there, Biden seemed to fare well among African American voters. According to a CNN exit poll, 63 percent of African Americans went for Biden, compared to 18 percent for Sanders and 10 percent for Bloomberg.

“Let tonight’s resounding [Joe Biden] victory in Virginia be a message to our party and the nation: the time has come to turn the one on chaos and division of the Trump era,” tweeted former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who endorsed Biden after his South Carolina win. “Virginia picks Presidents. Tonight, we picked a man we know and trust, my friend Joe Biden. Onward.”

Early evening news media coverage of Biden’s big win in Virginia occurred as polls were still open in other states, including delegate-rich California and Texas. More than 1,300 delegates — about a third of the total for the Democratic nomination — were at stake Tuesday.

Moderate Democrats Rally Behind Biden

“I’m not surprised that Biden won Virginia overwhelmingly,” said Dan Lagana, former chair of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee. “I think the size of the victory surprises me. It reflects a large consolidation of voters around [Biden]. And it certainly shows limitations of money in politics.”

That was in reference to Bloomberg, who boasted one of Virginia’s most well-organized campaigns with seven offices and 80 paid staffers. But that wasn’t enough to deliver a strong performance in what was his first appearance in the Democratic nominating contests.

Bloomberg had invested a significant amount of money in the state over the years, supporting Democratic candidates and causes — including pushing for gun control and fighting climate change. He argued he was best positioned to sideline Sanders and take on Trump.

And the defeat could be particularly harsh for the former New York City mayor, because he stands a chance of emerging from Virginia with no delegates at all. Delegates are apportioned according to the percentage of the vote candidates gets in each state, but any candidate has to exceed a 15 percent vote threshold to get any delegates at all. Warren also is not expected to hit the threshold to pick up any delegates in Virginia.

Virginia was never expected to be fertile territory for Sanders and his more progressive brand of Democratic politics. He fared poorly there against Clinton in 2016, and Virginia’s voters — while on the whole trending blue — have generally remained moderate in their leanings. But the Vermont senator never wrote it off, holding rallies in recent days in Virginia Beach, Richmond and Springfield.

‘Experience’, ‘Middle Of The Road’ Politics Boost Biden

Virginians who chose Biden on Tuesday praised his long tenure in elected office and middle-of-the-road political ideology.

“He’s had the experience, being vice president for eight years with Obama,” said Mabel Wilds, a 79-year-old retiree who voted in Dumfries.

“I’m not a fan of Bernie Sanders and the direction he’s going,” said Stanley Urbaniak, a 29-year-old school psychologist who voted in Manassas Park. “I’m more of a moderate. I’m not a fan of just raising taxes so high. I’ve always been a fan of Joe Biden because he’s always been a middle of the road moderate, and out of all the candidates, he can work with everybody.”

Virginia voters who chose Sanders said they appreciated his far-reaching positions on things like Medicaid for All and forgiving all student debt.

“I was thinking a lot about equality, and being a recent graduate of graduate school and a new professional, I was thinking a lot about my student loans. That was weighing on me. And I was just thinking, who can provide the best chance for this country in the state that we’re in,” said Megan Murphy, 26.

According to Kyle Kondik, an analyst at the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, Sanders’ best-performing precincts were those with universities in them.

Still, Biden’s win also was fueled by voters who decided at the last minute that they would vote for him. In a poll conducted by Monmouth University in late February, three of four respondents said they were willing to change their minds on who they supported. Wilds’ husband only decided on Tuesday morning to support the former vice president, as did Anson Ryan, a 52-year-old African American voter.

“It really is about who can win. And that’s one of the things that African Americans are, if we’re not anything we’re practical,” he said. “And so we understand who can make things happen.”

Noel Gasca contributed reporting. This story originally appeared on WAMU.