Published 03:20 IST, March 4th 2020
Super Tuesday: Here's what it means for 2020 US Presidential Election
The United States on March 3 concluded the Super Tuesday primaries, where fourteen states and one US territory voted to nominate their candidates
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Super Tuesday is the most important day in the US election calendar year as it is the day when most states cast their votes to nominate candidates for the presidential election. The presidential election in the United States takes place every four years on the first Tuesday of November, but before that both Republicans and Democrats vote to nominate their candidates. When the group of the most number of states takes part in the primaries, it is called Super Tuesday. The United States on March 3 concluded the Super Tuesday primaries, where fourteen states and one US territory voted. The focus will be on the Democratic contest as the election will bring more clarity about their presidential contender because Republican's Donald Trump does not face any serious challenger and is likely to contest for the second term.
Read: Democrat Joe Biden Gains Ground With Key Endorsements Ahead Of 'Super Tuesday'
New Hampshire, Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina have already voted earlier in the month making Bernie Sanders the front-runner in the race with 56 delegates. But, now all the focus will be on Super Tuesday as it will bring the most number of delegates on the table and have the final say in deciding candidates. As per reports, more than 1,300 delegates out of 3,979 voted in Tuesday's primaries, which is about 30% of all pledged delegates available. Candidates must finish with 15% of votes in either the statewide total or an individual congressional district in order to win any delegates.
The early voting states have made Bernie Sanders as the national front-runner, but the Super Tuesday have the ability to turn that around because if one candidate takes a gigantic lead that will be nearly impossible for anyone else to overcome. The delegate count going into Super Tuesday for Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren stood at 54 and 8 respectively. Pete Buttigieg, who had 26 delegates until Sunday dropped out of the race, while Amy Klobuchar, who dropped out on Monday and endorsed Biden for the race, had 7 delegates. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was on ballots for the first time, which experts believe will only divide the votes.
Super Tuesday states
California, the most populous state in the United States with 415 delegates decided to return to Super Tuesday to increase its influence after it held its primary in June during the 2016 presidential election. Texas is the second most important state in the Super Tuesday primaries as it has 228 delegates to its name, which can play an important role in deciding the next Democrat candidate. Alabama (52), Arkansas (31), Colorado (67), Maine (24), Massachusetts (91), Minnesota (75), North Carolina (110), Oklahoma (37), Tennessee (64), Utah (29), Vermont (16) and Virginia (99) are other states that participated in Tuesday's primaries. The results will start coming out from 6:00 am on the morning of March 4.
Image Credit: AP
03:20 IST, March 4th 2020