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Longtime abortion rights opponent backs Biden 

Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), among the last anti-choice Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, this week endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nominee, calling him “a strong voice for rural America in the White House.”

Last April, Peterson was one of three House Democrats to join Republicans in pushing for a vote on legislation based on the myth that abortion providers routinely commit infanticide during “failed” abortions. He has the backing of Democrats for Life of America (DFLA), a group that supports anti-choice Democrats.

Peterson, who represents a part of rural Minnesota that’s solidly Republican, also opposed the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, and later voted against both articles of impeachment.

Peterson, a congressman since 1991, is the latest anti-choice legislator to back Biden’s presidential campaign. In February, Biden received endorsements from a Louisiana state senator who voted for a near-total abortion ban and a Texas lawmaker who voted to fund a program run by anti-choice activists.

This week, Biden also received a number of endorsements from pro-choice legislators, including U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), a pro-choice stalwart.

How Super Tuesday candidates fared among people of color, LGBTQ people

Exit polling from Super Tuesday states showed voters of color were largely split between Biden and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who won 513 and 435 delegates, respectively, in Tuesday’s primaries.

Fifty-eight percent of Black voters supported Biden on Super Tuesday, while 17 percent backed Sanders, according to exit data based on median support complied by the Washington Post. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who ended her presidential bid on Thursday, received 5 percent of the vote from voters who are Black. Biden dominated among voters who named race relations their top issue.

Sanders won 35 percent of the vote from people who are Latino on Super Tuesday, 9 points higher than Biden’s share. Forty-two percent of Asian voters backed Sanders, and 17 percent voted for Biden.

Biden won the largest share of voters who identified as female in the exit poll, with 37 percent. Sanders drew 25 percent, and 15 percent voted for Warren.

While exit poll data from LGBT voters wasn’t available on a national scale, state-by-state statistics showed LGBT voters supported Sanders in large numbers. In Texas, they backed Sanders over Biden, 49 percent to 21 percent, according to exit polling compiled by the New York Times. Sanders won 36 percent of the vote from LGBT voters in California’s primary to Biden’s 16 percent.