ST. PAUL — Amy Klobuchar’s abrupt withdrawal from the presidential race gave front-runner Bernie Sanders a sudden opportunity to lock up her home state on Super Tuesday.

Sanders, who easily won Minnesota’s caucuses in 2016, has a large and motivated progressive base in the state, offsetting Klobuchar’s presumed home-field advantage in a race that was increasingly seen as tight before she dropped out Monday. Her departure followed the weekend exit of fellow moderate Pete Buttegieg.

Sanders also had a fortuitously timed last-minute rally in St. Paul on Monday night, which was scheduled days before Klobuchar quit the race. He also had backing from two progressive stars with national followings — U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, who introduced him at the rally, and Attorney General Keith Ellison.

Sanders made a play for Klobuchar’s and Buttegieg’s voters at the St. Paul rally.

“I know that there are political differences but I also know that virtually all of Amy supporters and Pete supporters understand, that we have to move to a government that believes in justice and not greed,” Sanders said, and added: “The door is open. Come on in.”

But Klobuchar and Buttegieg endorsed Joe Biden as moderates moved to blunt Sanders’ rise.

“I don’t think we should have a socialist heading up our ticket,” Klobuchar said Tuesday on “CBS This Morning.”

Biden was fresh off a big win in South Carolina on Saturday but had little campaign organization in Minnesota and hadn’t spent significantly in the state. Mike Bloomberg, also crowding the moderate lane, spent heavily on TV ads for weeks in the state as part of a Super Tuesday strategy that bypassed the earliest-voting states. Elizabeth Warren was Sanders’ rival among Minnesota progressives.

Minnesota had 75 national convention delegates up for grabs.

In Moorhead, 36-year-old librarian Al Bernardo said he voted for Sanders and never even considered his home-state senator.

“I think Bernie is the only candidate who can beat Trump,” he said. “He’s running on a platform that will do the most to help the most people in the country. I think the way he is organizing his campaign represents a new movement in the Democratic Party that has been lacking in recent years.”

Mara Morken, 43, a small business owner in Moorhead, voted for Warren and called Sanders her second choice. She said she would support Biden if he becomes the nominee even if she “might choke a little bit.”

“We need to see blue in the White House,” she said. “We’ve seen what Donald Trump can do. He has put children in cages and started trade wars that have hurt our farmers.”

Adam Pankow, 39, a member of the Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre, had planned on voting for Amy Klobuchar, but took her advice and voted for Joe Biden. He said he saw Biden as “a great choice to ultimately beat Trump.”

“I wanted my vote to count toward putting a nominee in there who is actually going to be a nominee,” he said.

It’s Minnesota’s first presidential primary since 1992, and the first that’s binding on both parties since 1956. The state ditched a caucus system after 2016 saw long lines and chaotic gatherings in some places, but the primary system set up by state lawmakers has raised privacy concerns that may dampen turnout. Voters’ names and party preferences must be reported to the state’s major parties.

President Donald Trump had the Minnesota GOP primary ballot to himself after party leaders decided not to list any Republican challengers, though write-in votes will be allowed.

Early voting began Jan. 17. Through Monday, election officials had accepted almost 84,000 Democratic ballots. The early ballots cast for Klobuchar must be counted but became irrelevant once she left the race.