SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah voters’ first chance to go to the polls on Super Tuesday amid a hotly contested Democratic nominating contest brought strong turnout and busy polling places.

The Democratic front-runner is Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, though Utah voters have also been courted by moderate candidates in the weeks leading up to the conteston the day named for the high-profile series of contests in 14 delegate-rich states across the country.

The Democratic primary is open in Utah, so voters can cast a ballot regardless of party affiliation. Many polling places had steady traffic, and turnout numbers were story. About 448,000 people had voted as of late Tuesday afternoon, for about 30% turnout, elections director Justin Lee said. That's just under the 32% presidential-primary turnout record set in 2008.

Lincoln Eggertz, 37, voted for Sanders because he said it's time to get rid of ultra-wealthy politicians and replace them with someone who understands the plight of regular people. He scoffed at the theory that Sanders can't beat President Donald Trump in November.

“I think there is a lot of young people out there that want to see change and that whole entire group is underestimated right now," said Eggertz, a college student and bartender from Sandy, Utah.

Emily Tonkovich, 32, a recent transplant from Wyoming who works in sales in the medical industry, also backed Sanders.

“I like Bernie because he supports the working man and woman,” she said. “Healthcare is important, taxing people with extreme income. I just think it's fair.”

While Sanders is popular with the state's left-leaning voters, more moderate candidates have also courted voters by saying they offered the best chance to unseat the president.

Rob Applegarth, a 67-year-old respiratory therapist from Riverton, said he voted for former Vice President Joe Biden. While he personally likes some of the ideas he hears from Sanders, he thinks Biden can bring in a bigger coalition. “I think Bernie scares people off,” he said.

His wife, Suzy Applegarth,, on the other hand, voted for Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. “If she was a man, she'd be winning,” said the registered nurse.

Alton McCalla, a 37-year-old data analyst from Sandy, voted for Biden because he believes he has the best chance to defeat Trump.

“I think he’ll bridge the gap with moderate Republicans and maybe the Republicans that don’t want to necessarily vote for Trump,” said McCalla, of Sandy, Utah.

He never considered Mike Bloomberg, who has been criticized for enforcing a “stop and frisk” policing tactic while he was mayor of New York City that disproportionately affected minorities. McCalla, who is black, said he lived in New York during that era and said he was frisked so frequently that he would just stop and tell the officers to get it over with it.

McCalla laughed about Bloomberg’s late entry into the Democratic race and his big spending:

“He dumped so much money and I feel like it was for nothing. He should have used that money to back the Democratic nominee,” McCalla said.

Shelley Evans, a 53-year-old hairdresser and orthodontal assistant, said she thinks Bloomberg's deep pockets give him the best chance to defeat Trump. She voted for him after considering Biden and lobbying from her son trying to pick Sanders, who she thinks could never pay for all the programs he's promising.

“We need a very, very strong candidate to beat President Trump,” Evans said. “I know it sounds really bad, but I feel like he’s got the funds and the money to do it. . . He is backing himself. It kind of makes him so he’s not biased.”

Most Utah county votes by mail, but polls are open for traditional voting as well. The state also allows same-day voter registration.

Utah has 35 Democratic delegates, six are super delegates and 29 are pledged. The 29 delegates are awarded on a proportional basis, though the allotment isn't expected to announced immediately.