*** Who ***
For the Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are virtually head to head in the polls.
For the Republicans, John McCain's leading over Mitt Romney. Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul are still in the race but face a struggle to raise money and momentum.
*** Where ***
Twenty four states are taking part, plus American Samoa.
22 states hold nominating contents for the Democrats (15 primaries, 7 caucuses) and all democratic contests are proportional so delegates are shared out based on the votes.
21 states hold nominating contests for the Republicans (17 primaries, four caucuses) and in 12 states, including New York and California, the winner gets all the delegates.
*** What's a primary and what's a caucus? ***
They're the process by which supporters of the Democrats and the Republicans in each state get to say who they'd like to see represent their party in the presidential election.
Primaries - A primary is basically a traditional election; registered voters get to directly vote for their preferred candidate.
Caucus - These vary according to state law and they're slightly confusing. In most states, voters congregate and discuss the candidates and the issues before electing delegates to the county conventions, who then elect delegates to state conventions who then nominate the national conventions' delegates. Um, right...
*** Gimme the numbers... ***
Well, for the Democrats there's a total of 4,049 delegates in the entire election process and 2,025 are needed to secure nomination. 2,075 are up for grabs on Super Tuesday. Presently, CNN reports that Clinton has 232, Obama has 158 and Edwards has 26.
For the Republicans there's a total of 2,381 delegates in the entire election process and 1,191 are needed to secure nomination. 1,081 are up for grabs on Super Tuesday. Presently, McCain has 97, Romney has 92, Huckabee has 29 and Paul has 6.
These figures vary between sources though. The New York Times and BBC's numbers are slightly different. Nobody said this would be easy to grasp!
*** What are the states to watch? ***
They're all valuable but some have more available delegates than others so a lot of the candidates' time goes into trying to win them over.
California's the biggest prize of all, with 441 Democratic delegates and 173 Republican delegates. Clinton's hoping the Hispanic and middle-class vote will secure victory for her, though Obama has closed the gap in recent polls. McCain isn't amazingly well liked by the state's influential conservatives but he's expected to win the Republican battle.
New York is the second biggest hitter with 281 Democrat delegates and 101 Republican delegates. It's Clinton's home state so she's expected to win and McCain is leading the polls.
Illinois is the day's third biggest win for Democrats with 185 Democratic delegates and is thought to be a safe bet for local lad Obama. There's 70 delegates available for the Republicans and it's still a bit of a toss-up over who will win.
*** Will there be a big winner for each party? ***
McCain is thought to be a good bet for securing a good lead in the Republican race but barring a big sensation, even Super Tuesday won't bring a crystal clear resolve to the engrossing fight for the Democratic nomination between Obama and Clinton.
*** Who cares? ***
America's might and political sway over the world means that hopefully the entire globe does. Whilst that's a little optimistic, the results of the presidential election will potentially have a big influence on the politics, economy and lives of a large number of other countries.
A massive 8.3 million Americans watched the recent televised debate between Obama and Clinton and a roughly equal number of people said they were as excited about Super Tuesday as they were about the traditionally huge Super Bowl
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- richjm
- added this
- added February 04, 2008
- flag
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And just in case you were wondering, here's the states taking part.
Both parties: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah.
Democrats only: Idaho, Kansas, New Mexico
Republicans only: Montana, West Virginia
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And for those of you who like/still trust polls, here's the latest from CNN.
For those of you who prefer a summary: it's a darn close race between the Democrats, McCain's got the edge in the Republican race.
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This is awesome--MOYNIHAN--a name you can trust...
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So question what do they mean with the rebuplican party by winner takes all delegates.. Is that just in each state or all 24 together?
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Hi Anna,
In the Republican contest for nomination, New York, Missouri, New Jersey, Arizona, Utah, Connecticut, Montana, Delaware and West Virginia operate on a 'winner takes all' basis where whoever gets the most votes in the state wins all the delegates for that state.
Modified winner-takes-all systems are used in California, Georgia, Alabama and Oklahoma.
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I have to say. Mitt looks the best in a Superman costume
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A+ on the picture.
SC already had its primary but I'm looking forward to the insanity that Super Tuesday always brings.-
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- amphytrite
- 1 year ago
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Still feeling a bit confused? Perhaps you need someone to stand there and tell it you you, with fun little graphics and patriotic music. Check out this pod!
