Joe Biden Wins Straw Poll Held By Alexandria Democrats

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Joe Biden won a straw poll held by the Alexandria Democratic Committee Sunday at Lost Boy Cider. The straw poll came two days ahead of Super Tuesday, when Virginia will be one of 14 states and one U.S. territory holding the Democratic presidential primary election.

The vote tally, shared by the Blue Virginia blog, showed Biden with 48 votes, followed by Elizabeth Warren with 39, Michael Bloomberg with 14, Bernie Sanders with 13 and Amy Klobuchar with eight.

On Super Tuesday, 1,357 pledged delegates will be up for grabs, or 34 percent of the total. Heading into Tuesday, Sanders has 58 committed delegates, followed by Biden with 50, Pete Buttigieg with 26, Warren with eight and Klobuchar with seven. Buttigieg dropped out of the race Sunday night.

Recent polling has not indicated a clear frontrunner in Virginia. A poll conducted by Christopher Newport University from Feb. 3 to 24 among 561 likely voters showed Biden with 22 percent, Sanders with 17 percent and Bloomberg with 13 percent.

But a Data for Progress poll of 499 likely voters from Feb. 23 to 25 had Sanders at 28 percent, Biden at 19 percent, Warren at 17 percent and Bloomberg at 17 percent.

A Monmouth University Poll of 400 likely voters, released Feb. 18, showed Bloomberg and Sanders tied at 22 percent, followed by Biden at 18 percent, Buttigieg at 11 percent, Klobuchar at 9 percent and Warren at 5 percent.

Virginia voters have a history of supporting centrist Democratic candidates for president. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won the Democratic primary in Virginia in a landslide against Sanders in 2016, getting 64 percent of the votes compared to 35 percent for Sanders.

Things to know for Election Day in Alexandria

• Check your voter registration status and polling place on the Virginia Department of Elections website.
• Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. Voters in line by 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote.
• Virginia voters are not registered by party, so any registered voter can cast a ballot in the Democratic presidential primary.
• The Republican Party will not hold a presidential primary and will instead hold a statewide convention in the spring.
• Election officials are not permitted to provide information about candidates, including who has dropped out. The ballot was printed prior to the start of absentee voting in January and contains 14 names. Voters are advised to research their choices before arriving at the polling place.
• An acceptable form of photo identification is required to vote at your polling place. Examples could include a Virginia driver's license, United States passport, military photo ID, employee photo ID, or student photo ID.
• Voters can obtain a free voter photo ID from Alexandria's Voter Registration Office, open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Election Day from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Voters who do not bring a photo ID can cast a provisional ballot and have until noon on Friday, March 6, to deliver a copy of their photo ID to the Voter Registration Office or appear in person to apply for a free voter photo ID card.