Super Tuesday and the Future of the Elections

Many consider Super Tuesday a stepping stone to nomination in the face for the presidency. Eleven states voted for who they wanted to nominate for their party’s candidate. While 35 states still await their caucuses and primaries, many believe the nomination for both sides is clear.

Donald Trump earned a large portion of the delegates for the Republican side – he won seven states versus Ted Cruz’s three and Marco Rubio’s one. He now sits with 319 of the 1237 delegates needed to win nomination. Cruz is second with 226 and Rubio is in third with 110.

Hillary Clinton showed a similar domination of the states on the Democrat’s side. She too won seven states, losing only four to Bernie Sanders. She has 1052 of the 2383 needed delegates to secure the nomination. Bernie Sanders trails with 427.

Clinton’s large number of delegates do not solely owe themselves to the caucuses, where she won 504 on Super Tuesday. Clinton has found support from a group of delegates unique to the Democrats – the superdelegates. Superdelegates act as free delegates that can choose whichever candidate they please. Bernie has several superdelegates, but a majority of them lean to Clinton’s side.

The superdelegate system began after the 1968 election, to give more power to the Democratic National Committee’s leaders in the selection process. This aspect of the Democratic nominee selection process has gained criticism throughout the current election cycle. Critics say that it prevents a populist candidate – someone chosen by the people outside of the accepted establishment of Washington DC – from gaining traction.

Donald Trump has also recently hit roadblocks. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, attacked Trump for his decision to not condemn white supremacists. Ryan, a conservative like Trump and running-mate of 2012 Republican candidate Mitt Romney, currently acts as the majority leader of the House of Representatives and carries a lot of weight in the GOP candidate selection process.

Florida’s primary happens on March 15, with Trump projected to win the Republican delegates and Clinton the democrat’s.