FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — Primary week started with some major shakeups among Democratic candidates. Three candidates left the race, days after the results of the South Carolina primary.
Two of those candidates, Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg, endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden.
"I think it forced us all to rethink who are we electing," Diane Sappenfield said.
Some voters said they made their decision based on a culmination of South Carolina results, and the direction some candidates were turning.
“I wanted Biden, but I wasn't sure that he was a viable candidate until after South Carolina," Wendy Dellar said. "Yesterday just reinforced that."
Other voters said that the week of shakeups helped narrow down who they wanted to vote for.
"There was a cluster that I thought were kind of similar, now they've sort of coalesced," Jim Lawless said.
While some voters said it didn’t change their mind at all, they said they were happy the number of candidates dwindled.
"I've been relieved, actually, to know that some of those candidates who were not viable actually realized that and dropped out, so I was very relieved," Marilena Barletta said as she left the polls.
One voter told WUSA9 that she did like Pete Buttigieg, but she didn’t have a favorite now. She said her decision came down to party unity.
"I wasn't sure who I would vote for," Jussara Tanesi said. "I didn't want to vote for Bernie, so when I saw the rest of the party supporting Joe Biden, I saw that he has more chances now to win the primaries, and eventually to win the elections."
Early Virginia polls showed Joe Biden in the lead, followed by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.