Yahoo News How many delegates are up for grabs on Super Tuesday?
One of the most important days in the US presidential election calendar, Super Tuesday is the date when the most states vote simultaneously in presidential primaries
Voters in 16 states picked their nominees for the US presidential election on Tuesday, and while there were few surprises, Super Tuesday remains a key date on the road to the November polls.
What is Super Tuesday?
One of the most important days in the US presidential election calendar, Super Tuesday sees the highest number of states vote simultaneously in presidential primaries - 16 states and one US territory vote for their presidential candidate on Super Tuesday.
The states that voted in Democrat and Republican primaries in Tuesday are: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Iowa, along with US territory American Samoa. Republicans will also hold a vote in Alaska today, while the Democrat primary in Alaska will be held on 6 April.
How many delegates are up for grabs?
Super Tuesday sees 865 Republican and 1,420 Democrat delegates up for grabs. That represents a significant portion of the total number of delegates a candidate needs to secure each party nomination, which is 1,215 Republican delegates and 1,968 Democratic delegates.
Going into Super Tuesday, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump had around 244 delegates from votes already held in other states, while his main rival Nikki Haley had 43. With some results still coming in, Trump won a further 722 delegates on Super Tuesday, while Haley added a further 46 delegates to her total.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden had secured 206 delegates going into Super Tuesday, with just two Democrat delegates listed as "uncommitted", which means those delegates can vote for any candidate (and is also listed as an option for voters who want to place a party vote without backing a specific candidate). With votes still coming in, he has already added a further 1,659 delegates to his total.
How does it differ from the UK system of candidate selection?
In the UK, the Conservative Party selects its leader via a ballot system of MPs, narrowing down options to just two people and then putting a vote out to all party members. Labour Party candidates, meanwhile, must receive nominations from MPs, constituency parties and affiliates, before a ballot goes out to members and supporters.
In the US, picking a presidential candidate is a lengthier process. Candidates take part in a number of caucuses and primaries (a caucus involves discussions and voting by party members while a primary sees party members vote for their preferred candidate) in different states, with each state awarding candidates a certain number of delegates based on how many votes they get. Delegates then attend the party's national convention, where they cast their votes for their candidate. The nominee, and their running mate, are selected at national conventions, which take place in July (Republican) and August (Democrat).
Why does Super Tuesday matter?
As well as such a huge number of delegates up for grabs in one day (around a third of the total number of delegates, including in the two states with the largest number of available delegates), Super Tuesday has long indicated which candidate will be each party's nominee. For Republicans, since 1988 the candidate who emerged victorious on Super Tuesday has gone on to win the party's nomination.
This year, Super Tuesday was slightly less significant than normal, as there were far fewer candidates in the running (in 2016, for example, there were five Republican candidates in the race on Super Tuesday, and two Democrats). Generally speaking, the party in power puts forward fewer candidates as people are less inclined to challenge a sitting president from within their own party. This year, it has been clear for some time that the candidates on both sides are already presumptive nominees.
Will there be any surprises?
Something extraordinary would need to happen to derail the expected Trump vs Biden re-run of the 2020 election. Although neither candidate will reach the delegate threshold after the Super Tuesday results come in, the final result will put both frontrunners closer to the number of delegates necessary to win their party's nomination.
Haley has yet to reveal what she is likely to do after Super Tuesday, with many pundits expressing their surprise that she has not already dropped out. However, she is due to speak at 10am (EST), with friends reportedly telling The Wall Street Journal that she plans to drop out of the race but will not be offering Trump an immediate endorsement.
Prior to this, she had insisted that voters deserve to have more than one choice going into Super Tuesday.
"In the next 10 days, another 21 states and territories will speak," Haley said following the primary in South Carolina on 24 February. "They have the right to a real choice, not a Soviet-style election with only one candidate. And I have a duty to give them that choice."
