By: Annika Singh
Super Tuesday is part of the system that the Democratic party uses to decide on their nominee — the person to go against Trump in the November elections. On Tuesday, March 3rd, 14 states and 1 territory vote for their choice for the Democratic nominee — the process is similar to primaries and caucuses held before Super Tuesday (in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina).
How does the process work?
While the process may seem similar to federal election voting, it’s important to differentiate primaries and caucuses from the electoral college system. The electoral college system works on a ‘winner takes all’ principle — if a candidate gains a majority in a state, all the electoral college votes are given to that candidate. But that isn’t the case in Super Tuesday, where a certain number of delegates are assigned to each state and territory, and candidates are assigned delegates based on the percentage of the vote they receive (as long as it meets the minimum threshold of 15%). In July, at the Democratic National Convention, the candidate with a majority of the delegates gets the primary nomination.
What’s interesting about Super Tuesday is that candidates like Pete Buttigieg have made gains, despite dropping out before March 3rd. Some states, like California and Texas, have early voting options, which means that some voters may have chosen Buttigieg as their candidate of choice before he dropped out.
Things to look out for — California and Texas. Both states are delegate-heavy (California has 415 delegates and Texas has 228), and wins in either state give candidates a majority of the delegates each state has to offer — numbers upwards of a hundred delegates.
Super Tuesday didn’t go so superbly for many of the Democratic candidates — here’s the breakdown of who won and who lost on one of the most significant days in the primary race.
Winner: Joe Biden
The former Vice President went from an unlikely contender to the frontrunner in the total delegate counts for the Democratic primary. Despite his low spending on advertisements in Super Tuesday states (he spent about $2.2 million on ads in Super Tuesday states) and poor performance early on in the race (he lacked focus in his campaign and was overcome by Sanders in nationwide Democratic primary polls), Biden’s South Carolina victory allowed him to win ten states on Super Tuesday (including Texas, the second most delegate-rich state offered on Super Tuesday, and Minnesota). His endorsement from Amy Klobuchar, a former rival, following his South Carolina win led to a victory in Minnesota — a Klobuchar campaign staff member confirmed that he called Klobuchar to thank her after his win in her home state. His surprising comeback has made this candidate a clear winner from Super Tuesday.
Winner: Bernie Sanders
There were some wins and some losses for Bernie Sanders on Super Tuesday. He is now part of, along with Biden, what many see as a two-candidate race — a win, one that Warren does not share. Even though he didn’t win as much as Biden (four states compared to Biden’s ten), looking closer at the numbers, he seems to have won where it matters. While it’s true that four states doesn’t sound impressive, estimates place his delegate count less than a hundred away from Biden’s. The Sanders campaign can also add a California win to their list of victories — California is the most delegate-rich state, with 415 delegates at stake (Texas is second to California by number of delegates, with 228 delegates). Sanders definitely has to work hard to beat the Biden-Klobuchar-Buttigieg coalition, but he will have plenty of opportunities to reclaim the top spot in this race.
Loser: Elizabeth Warren
For a candidate who consistently performed well on the debate stage, in detailed and progressive policy plans, and in fundraising numbers, Warren’s performance in caucuses and primaries have been disappointing. Before Super Tuesday, she had consistently failed to achieve first-two placements in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, or South Carolina. But Warren supporters still had hope for a comeback on Super Tuesday. However, Warren didn’t win any states during Super Tuesday — an extremely prominent loss being her third-place finish in Massachusetts, her own state. Progressives, including Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, are calling for her exit from the primary race, forming a Sanders-Warren coalition to rival the centrist Biden-Klobuchar-Buttigieg one.
Loser: Michael Bloomberg
Bloomberg had placed all his bets on Super Tuesday — spending an estimated $215 million on advertisements in Super Tuesday states alone, and not participating in any of the caucuses or primaries before the day. But one of the most prominent lessons learned from Super Tuesday was that money doesn’t translate to voter support. Even though his spending on advertising was second-to-last in Super Tuesday states, Joe Biden gained the most, and Bloomberg, despite spending about half a billion dollars on his campaign in total, gained only one victory throughout his bid for primary: American Samoa. The territory has six delegates at stake in total, and when it comes to the federal election, American Samoa has no electoral college votes. Bloomberg, having not competed in any of the earlier caucuses or primaries, has only one win under his belt — and it’s a small one.
Loser: Tulsi Gabbard
No, she hasn’t dropped out yet — but that’s a common misconception. Tulsi Gabbard wasn’t on the Democratic debate stage in the final debate of 2019, and she hasn’t made an appearance for all of 2020. She won no delegates in any of the earlier caucuses and primaries, failing to meet the 15% threshold, which is why she failed to qualify for debates (obtaining one pledged delegate from Iowa, New Hampshire or Nevada automatically guaranteed candidates a spot on the stage, whether or not they fulfilled donor requirements or polling thresholds). Super Tuesday won Gabbard her first delegate in American Samoa (where she was born) — but just as it seemed that Gabbard had finally earned a spot on the debate stage, a DNC official confirmed on Tuesday night that the delegate requirements would ‘go up’. Overall, Tulsi Gabbard leaves voters asking the question — what is she still doing in the race?
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