ARLINGTON, the United States, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Polling stations opened on the U.S. East Coast on Tuesday morning, kicking off the so-called "Super Tuesday" primaries of the 2020 presidential election.
In Virginia, one of 14 U.S. states scheduled to hold elections this day, only candidates running for the Democratic nomination for the White House are on the ballot, as the state's Republican Party has canceled its primary to throw full support behind sitting President Donald Trump.
Other states, including populous California and Texas, are scheduled to hold both Republican and Democratic primaries, some of which will begin hours later because of time differences.
Trump, who's facing no major opponents in his own party, is expected to win the GOP primaries, while on the Democratic side there are still five vying for the party's nomination to challenge the incumbent.
After caucuses and primaries in four early voting states, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont is currently leading in the Democratic field with the most pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention (DNC), followed by former Vice President Joe Biden.
Besides them, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who's making his ballot debut, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and U.S. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii are also in the Democratic primary race.
