RICHMOND, Va. -- Tens of thousands of Virginia primary voters headed to the polls Tuesday to take part in the presidential primaries for both parties.
A steady but light parade of voters showed up at several voting precincts CBS 6 visited on Super Tuesday all over the Richmond region.
Super Tuesday is the largest single day delegate haul on the primary calendar, when16 states and American Samoa hold their party nomination contests.
Despite two challengers, President Joe Biden is expected to cruise to victory in Virginia and secure the Democratic nomination later this year.
Former President Donald Trump is the clear Republican front-runner but still faces a longshot bid for the GOP nomination from his former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who needs a strong Super Tuesday performance to remain viable.
Virginia is an open primary state, so voters choose which party primary they want to vote in without showing party registration. CBS 6 spoke to voters across the region backing each leading candidate.
At a Mechanicsville polling place, Courtney Carlson said she voted for Trump in the Republican primary.
Despite facing four separate criminal trails in multiple states, Carlson is not concerned about Trump's prospects in the fall, especially if features a rematch against Biden.
“Honestly, I feel like he’s going to be protected. I feel like the opposition trying to take him down is only fueling more fire for more people to support him," she said. “I just simply don’t think Biden has enough votes to stand on.”
Down across the county lines in Henrico, Horace Christian cast his ballot at Highland Springs High School, which he said was based on what's best for the country.
“Every vote counts," Christian said. "I encourage everybody to get out here and vote because it depends on how this economy and the next four years are going to be.”
Lawrence Foster was also voting at Highland Springs. He feels both front-runners represent what he thinks is wrong with our political system, but he voted for Biden on Tuesday and plans to do so this fall too.
"I wish it could have been better, younger people, some new minds. It is what it is, so my thing is pick the less of the two evils," he said.
"I’m concerned about our Democracy. There’s a lot of things happening I’ve been troubled about, and I want to see some changes made in a positive way. I’m more concerned about people rather than politics and money. I think that’s what took over instead of worrying about working people," Foster said.
Elections many times turn in suburban voting areas, and in the Bon Air portion of Chesterfield, Johnny Bloomquist said his vote for Trump this time relates directly to issues at the southern border, economic policy, and the military.
"I’m a Trump guy. Been loyal to him for a long time," he said. "Getting our economy strong again. Our national defense is something that’s been going down hill; they’ve gone woke and everything. I’m looking forward to getting Trump back in again.”
Interestingly, two voters at Crestwood Elementary told CBS 6 off camera they plan to vote for Biden in the fall but took advantage of Virginia's open primary system to vote for Haley in the Republican nomination contest.
Those voters said they cannot take four more years of a Trump presidency.
At Mary Munford Elementary in Richmond's west end, a woman who just wanted to go by Joann said she backed Haley straight out because of the chaos she's witnessed from both Biden and Trump.
She also said the former South Carolina governor has a calming presence she thinks the country needs right now.
“I’m voting for her because she is qualified. I’m not voting for her because she’s a woman. She’s just, to me, the best qualified person," Joann said. "Knowing her background, etc. I just think she would be the answers to a lot of our problems now.”
Polls in Virginia close at 7 p.m. Tuesday. More than 1 million voters took part in the last two presidential primaries in Virginia — 2016 and 2020. Most of the precinct officers at the voting locations our crew visited said their turnout was pretty light this year.
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