On March 5th, 16 states and one territory voted in their presidential primaries and caucuses, marking Super Tuesday. This year revealed several implications for the election such as Nikki Haley’s (Rep.) decision to end her campaign and important state elections in California and Texas.
Colleen Long, reporter for Live 5 News, clarifies this process of direct democracy, “Democrats and Republicans vote on who they want to run for president and other offices. And then once those votes are tallied, delegates are awarded.” These delegates are essential to the official nomination process.
As of now, Trump won all states— except Vermont which went to Nikki Haley. Her supporters were hopeful to win Massachusetts and Virginia but did not deliver this victory. She announced Wednesday morning in a press release streamed by Fox News that she decided to end her campaign, making it clear that she does not endorse Trump as the nominee.
As for Biden, his overwhelming victories were expected. Although his loss in the American Samoa caucus to Jason Palmer was an unfortunate loss, it did not dampen his strong lead as the Democratic Party candidate.
Despite Trump and Biden’s lead, the results reveal the public reservations across all subgroups. Politico mentions the candidates’ challenges among voting demographics, “Trump’s struggles with well-educated suburban voters… Biden’s protest votes over his policies in the Middle East in Democratic-leaning places like Minnesota.”
As for state elections, California and Texas emerged as the most significant. In California, Adam Schiff, the Democratic front runner, and Steve Garvey, Republican, advanced to the general election, shutting out Barbara Lee and Katie Porter. Finally, Colin Allred seeks to “unseat Sen. Ted Cruz”, winning a decisive majority and skipping another round with Gutierrez. Historically, Texas is consistently republican, but Allred is a promising democratic candidate because of his vast resources and sentiment to unify Texas.
All in all, this process ties to the concept of indirect democracy through our electoral college system. USA Today clarifies this system, “Thanks to the Electoral College system, voters are selecting statewide delegates, who will cast their vote for president on behalf of their state’s residents. In the span of one day on Super Tuesday, over a third of the delegates in the presidential race will be awarded to various candidates.”
Super Tuesday is just one piece in our complicated election cycle and Americans across the nation are eager to see how the results bode for their favorite candidate.
