The Political Rundown

Super Tuesday could be the breaking point

Tiana Kuchta

More stories from Tiana Kuchta

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Last weekend saw another primary on Saturday, Feb. 29. This time it was in South Carolina, where Joe Biden took the strong majority. 

This win could be attributed to Rep. James E. Clyburn, the highest-ranking African-American in Congress and an influential figure in South Carolina, who endorsed Biden, according to The New York Times.

After falling behind in the race during the first few states’ elections, Biden made a strong recovery in South Carolina and is now only seven delegates behind Bernie Sanders. 

Biden got 48.4 percent of the votes, which gave him 38 pledged delegates, according to CNN

The only other candidate who received pledged delegates in South Carolina was Sanders, who got 15 delegates and 19.9 percent of the votes. 

This change in the race will be even more interesting come Tuesday, March 3, when 14 states will be voting. 

This event has been deemed Super Tuesday because it is the day the most states vote at one time in the primary season. This year it will include Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia. 

According to The New York Times, California and Texas “have two of the largest delegate troves in the country. About a third of all delegates will be allocated on Super Tuesday.”

To me, it seems like the votes from Super Tuesday will be a make or break point for some of the candidates hanging out with few or no delegates.

Elizabeth Warren currently has eight pledged delegates, but her team is still not ready to quit.

“A super PAC supporting Senator Elizabeth Warren is buying $9 million in ads across nine expensive media markets in California, Texas and Massachusetts,” according to the Times. 

This boost tied to her performance at the recent debates could be enough to save her chances, but after the last few states, I am not feeling too optimistic. 

Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Mike Bloomberg and Tulsi Gabbard are all hanging on with very few pledged delegates, according to CNN. But I think after the results of Super Tuesday are in, those who still have very few votes are going to have to step out. 

Sanders could get an impassable lead from these states, and if that happens it would not make sense for those who are just hanging on to keep spending their money on a losing race. 

Plus, with Biden’s giant leap from South Carolina, he also has the chance to remain high above the others. 

Even though the race appears to be leaning towards just a few of our many candidates, it is hard to say what is going to happen when the results from Super Tuesday come flooding in. 

Kuchta can be reached at [email protected].