Super Tuesday has come and gone and Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton are a few steps closer to clinching their respective party’s’ nomination for President of the United States. However, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders won the Michigan primary despite polls showing him with a huge gap to close.
On Super Tuesday, the states of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Wyoming and the territory of American Samoa voted in their primaries and caucuses. All of these states, except for Alaska and Wyoming, who only voted on the Republican candidates and American Samoa who only voted on the Democrats, voted on both party’s candidates.
For Republicans, Super Tuesday was another big night for the billionaire Mr. Trump and another rough one for just about everyone else. Mr. Trump won Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Virginia, and Vermont. His two closest rivals, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, were blown away in many of these contests but they too managed to snag a couple of victories.
Sen. Cruz picked up Alaska, Oklahoma, and his home state of Texas while Sen. Rubio only won Minnesota. The other two remaining Republican candidates, Ohio Governor John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, did not win any states and polled poorly. Ben Carson has since announced that he sees “no political path forward.”
Mr. Trump, already in the lead for the race as far as delegates to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, extended his lead to 458 delegates. Senator Cruz is in second with 359 delegates, Senator Rubio in third with 151, Governor Kasich in fourth with 54 and Dr. Carson in fifth with 8. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who had dropped out of the race after a poor loss in South Carolina, still holds 4 delegates. To win the Republican nomination, one of the five candidates must reach a total of 1,237 pledged delegates to claim the nomination.
In the aftermath of the Super Tuesday primaries, the field remained unchanged, but signs of Mr. Trump’s lead wavering have surfaced in close-wins. Governor John Kasich has vowed to stay in the race, and said he would win Ohio’s March 15 primary. Governor Kasich also has said he thinks the battle for the Republican nomination would go all the way to the Convention in Cleveland.
Donald Trump, the clear front-runner, now faces the beginnings of a rebellion within the Republican Party from the more “establishment” wing.
On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hoped to deliver a knockout blow to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and cinch up the Democratic nomination. She got closer to the nomination, but did not eliminate Senator Sanders quite yet.
Secretary Clinton won the night on Super Tuesday to be sure, winning the states of Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Senator Sanders picked up wins in Colorado, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and his home state of Vermont. The former Secretary blew away the Vermont Senator in many of victories except in Massachusetts.
Senator Sanders, meanwhile had impressive victories but not overwhelming ones except in Vermont. Secretary Clinton holds a wide advantage in the delegate count, winning 706 regular democratic delegates while Senator Sanders has won 546 delegates. To win the Democratic nomination, one of these two must reach a total of 2,383 pledged delegates. Secretary Clinton still holds 461 pledged Superdelegates, towering over Sen. Sanders 25.
Today, March 15, more states will cast their ballots for a nominee. Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Ohio will vote. This night comes following campaign stops from Gov. Kasich and Mr. Trump. Ohio is a winner-take-all primary, that Gov. Kasich hopes to win.
Christopher Witt
Reporter