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KSL Team CoverageA race that could have narrowed the field instead has heightened the anticipation. Tonight could decide, in large part, the eventual candidates from each party.
In Utah for the Republicans it's Mitt Romney, with 88 percent of the vote. Arizona Senator John McCain is in second, with just 6 percent, and Ron Paul is currently in third place with 3 percent.
The race among Democratic candidates in Utah is much closer. With a small percentage of the precincts reporting, Illinois Senator Barack Obama is leading with 52 percent; Senator Hillary Clinton is second with 41 percent. And John Edwards, who dropped out last week, is still receiving 5 percent of the vote.
It's almost like election night in November: people glued to their TV sets, waiting for election results. That was certainly the case at Mitt Romney's Utah headquarters in Sandy. They were keeping their fingers crossed, knowing California is crucial to their candidate.
Romney's son Josh said, "For the last week, we've had a lot of people, a lot of conservatives really coming out for us strongly. I think that's going to help a lot. And I think we're going to get a good turnout from conservative voters."
Josh Romney has been campaigning almost as hard as his father has, criss-crossing the nation, spreading the word.
ABC national correspondent Jim Hickey spoke to us live from Mitt Romney's campaign. We asked him what the vibes were like in the Romney camp, based on some of the early results. He said, "The folks in Romney headquarters are talking about how important California is, and that is certainly true. California is crucial for Mitt Romney if he is to continue his presidential hope, to keep him alive."
Speaking from his campaign headquarters tonight, Romney said, "One thing's clear, this campaign's going on."
At the U of U's Hinckley institute of politics, political junkies watched history unfold. Utah's first-ever primary results may go to Mitt Romney, but they watched John McCain win state after state, early on.
Jeremy Strand said, "It seems like something that I kinda foresaw, but, I personally being a Romney person, it's kind of disheartening. But hopefully California will pull through for him."
Shilo Platts said, "There aren't a whole lot of surprises in my opinion. I think that obviously, you know, Mitt Romney winning in Utah and Massachusetts shouldn't come as a shock."
Judging by the speeches we've heard tonight, it doesn't appear to be the end for the three Republican candidates. For political junkies, it looks like the fun is just beginning.
Energized, engaged, enthusiastic--those are the words we're hearing tonight from Democratic voters. And it turns out, not enough Utahns picked Hillary Clinton as their Democratic candidate. We were at the Barack Obama watch party where supporters are clearly overjoyed their candidate picked up Utah.
But as you know the night isn't over; there are still key states in the Democratic Primary that have yet to be called or even vote for that matter.
We were also at Senator Hillary Clinton's Utah watch party earlier tonight. Those we spoke with said they support Clinton because of her experience. If you look at the exit polls nationwide, you hear a similar theme from voters.
For Obama supporters, though, many of them told us it's his ability to unite and inspire that drove them to vote for him.
Curtis Haring said, "That really appeals to me personally. It says that the politics of usual isn't working. It's time to try something different, try something better, have, as Obama says, hope for a better tomorrow."
For some Democratic voters, though, that better tomorrow they believe will come through experience, and that means Hillary Clinton.
Clinton supporter Breanne Miller said, "I think experience shows more than she's been around. I think it shows that she knows how to get things done -- what it takes to get things done and what will work and what won't work on important issues, whether it be the war, economy, immigration."
It was a super Super Tuesday for John McCain. He won in Connecticut, New Jersey, Illinois, Delaware, Oklahoma, New York, Arizona, California and Missouri.
Mike Huckabee won in Arkansas, West Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia.
As for Mitt Romney, he won in Massachusetts, Utah, Montana, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Colorado.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton has won in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, New York, California, Massachusetts, Arizona and New Jersey.
Barack Obama picked up wins in Illinois, Georgia, Delaware, Alabama, North Dakota, Kansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Missouri, Alaska, Minnesota and Utah.
