Super Tuesday Roundup
Sixteen states headed to the polls yesterday, and Nikki Haley bows out of the race
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What makes Tuesday super?
Super Tuesday is the day that 16 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia) and the territory of American Samoa vote. It’s “super” because of the large number of states voting at once and the considerable number of delegates available, comprising more than one-third of each party's total delegate count. While the focus is primarily on the presidential race, there are also significant down-ballot contests occurring simultaneously in some states. However, while the day may provide crucial momentum, there are not enough delegates available for either candidate to secure the nomination outright.
What happened this Super Tuesday?
The biggest news following the March 5 Super Tuesday contests is candidate Nikki Haley’s exiting the race for the Republican nomination. Haley won only one state’s primary — Vermont — with former President Donald Trump sweeping all others. Now, Joe Biden and Donald Trump have all but wrapped up their nominations with each winning significant victories on Super Tuesday.
With more than a dozen states participating in primaries or caucuses, this day stands as the largest in the nominating process thus far, shifting away from the sequential early-voting states. Despite Haley's efforts, Trump maintained dominance in the Republican contests, edging closer to the required delegate count for nomination. However, there were a couple of upsets in Vermont and American Samoa. In Vermont, Haley beat Trump – her only win of Super Tuesday. In American Samoa, little-known candidate Jason Palmer beat Biden 51 to 40 for a total of 91 votes cast in the Democratic caucuses. Biden, despite facing challenges in approval ratings and polling, continued to secure victories over his few rivals, further solidifying his position.
Nevertheless, notable dissent against Biden's policies, particularly regarding the Israeli offensive in Gaza, emerged through protest votes in several states, posing potential challenges for Democratic turnout. Amidst these developments, North Carolina emerged as a focal point due to its pivotal governor's race and its potential impact on national politics. In Alabama, “[t]wo Democrats advanced to a primary runoff election in Alabama’s newly-drawn 2nd Congressional District: Anthony Daniels and Shomari Figures…The district is closely watched by Democrats as a potential pickup opportunity in the U.S. House. Because no candidate garnered more than 50% of the vote, the race now advances a runoff…set for April 16.”
For more information on the results of Super Tuesday, check out CBS News.
What problems did we see?
We saw a small number of previously debunked claims related to election fraud – but nothing we haven’t heard before – as well as some reports of long lines and isolated issues with voting machines in Texas.
In a newly established congressional district in Alabama, more than 6,000 voters received inaccurate voting information via postcards ahead of the primary, raising concerns about its impact on Black representation and Democratic prospects in the U.S. House. Despite the software glitch that led to the misinformation, voters were still able to cast their ballots correctly at the polls. The Montgomery County Board of Registrars is actively rectifying the issue by notifying affected voters and attributing the error to adjustments made following the recent redistricting.