Super Tuesday Pushes Frontrunners Forward


election center gray

[UPDATE]:
 Ted Cruz won Texas, Oklahoma, and Alaska. Marco Rubio won the Minnesota caucus. Donald Trump won Georgia, Vermont, Virginia, Alabama, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Arkansas. However, John Kasich and Donald Trump are expected to get the same number of delegates in Vermont. Hillary Clinton won Georgia, Virginia, Alabama, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, and American Samoa. Bernie Sanders won Vermont, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Minnesota.

Super Tuesday was a good night to be a frontrunner. In each party, the frontrunner had a strong night with several wins. Proportional delegate allocation benefitted their opponents, but the frontrunners are beginning to open a lead over their competitors.

Hillary Clinton had an especially strong night as she was able to limit Senator Bernie Sanders to only a few wins, including his home state of Vermont. Clinton won her former home state of Arkansas and the delegate-rich state of Texas. Sanders was able to win his home state and Oklahoma. Sanders’s wins show that Clinton is still struggling with some white voters.

Sanders was able to pick up many delegates due to allocation rules, despite large margins of defeat.

Senator Marco Rubio was one of the biggest losers on Super Tuesday as he had failed to win a state as of publication time (see update). Initial results coming in from Minnesota showed a Rubio lead, however. The Rubio campaign had won several news cycles as it looked like the establishment was coalescing around him. The Rubui campaign was also raising expectations on Tuesday morning, predicting as many as four wins.

Rubio’s ability to gain delegates is also being limited by his performance. In many states, Rubio may not hit 20%, the delegate threshold.

Ted Cruz had a successful night as he met expectations, winning Texas and Oklahoma. Cruz has now won three states and is the only candidate to win a state other than Trump. The Cruz campaign is expected to argue that conservatives should coalesce around him as the anti-Trump candidate.

Trump did reach a crucial benchmark as he has now won eight states. Republican National Committee rules require a candidate to win eight states in order to be considered for the nomination at the convention.


About Tyler

Tyler is the chief media reporter for TKNN, with the news organization since its founding in November of 2010. He has previously served as chief political reporter and chief political anchor for TKNN.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *