Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic party primary in Tennessee.
The latest win put Clinton ahead of her rivals in the group of contests known as Super Tuesday.
Complete TN Super Tuesday Results
Earlier Tuesday, Clinton won the Democratic primary in Texas, Arkansas, Georgia and Virginia, while her rival, Bernie Sanders, won the contest in his home state of Vermont, as well as Oklahoma.
Preliminary exit poll results show Clinton did especially well among older voters and blacks in Tennessee's presidential primaries, while Sanders was the choice of voters favoring a non-establishment candidate.
"What this campaign is about it’s a movement to give ordinary people a voice and not let big corporations, big money, lobbyists control our political system," said local Sanders campaign volunteer Dylan Forest.
Clinton supporters welcome the competition. Tuesday they were calm and confident as states were called for Clinton.
"I think even secretary Clinton would be thankful for the primary because it's made her a better, stronger candidate," said Rep. John Ray Clemmons, one of the local leaders of her campaign, "and we're excited she has grown as a candidate, she is the most qualified person to ever run for the presidency and she’s going to make an incredible President of the United States."
State and Davidson County Democratic Party leaders and supporters gathered at the Smokin' Thighs restaurant in Nashville to watch the election results. The crowd cheered when Clinton was named the projected winner for Tennessee.
After casting her ballot at Belmont's Curb Event Center Tuesday morning, Metro Nashville Mayor Megan Barry stopped by the Democratic watch party to meet with supporters. Mayor Barry announced last week her endorsement of Clinton.
Mary Mancini, Chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party, said Super Tuesday left Tennessee Democrats energized. She said both Clinton and Sanders are strong candidates, but the fact that Clinton made multiple campaign stops in Tennessee gave her an edge.
"I think it always helps when a candidate comes to the state and speaks to voters directly and shows they are interested in the state," said Mancini. "It also telegraphs that Tennessee is in play in the November election, which is really exciting for Tennessee."
See Democracy 2016 for more national stories on the other candidates.
