UNITED STATES—Well the race for The White House is getting hotter than ever, especially as the candidates put everything on the line for Super Tuesday. For those not in the know, Super Tuesday is that time of year where elections are taking place all over the country, for 2016, it’s critical. Why?
A bevy of delegates are up for grabs which can be the difference between one candidate putting the brakes on another candidates bid for the presidency, or when a slew of candidates are forced to drop out of the race because they won’t obtain enough delegates to secure the nomination.
On the Democratic side of things, it was a battle between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Clinton has gained a major amount of momentum in the coming weeks stalling Mr. Sanders in his tracks. He might be down, but he isn’t out quite yet. On the Republican side, Donald Trump continues to build his momentum after winning the primary in South Carolina. At this point, many are questioning if any of the other candidates can even stop him.
We have Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, John Kasich and Ben Carson. Sorry, hate to say it but Kasich and Carson are pretty much out. They haven’t had much momentum, and this circus (which so many people have labeled it) has becomes a three-way battle between Rubio, Cruz and Trump. The Republicans have turned to some dirty tactics including name calling to diminish the credibility of their opponents, which I figure is something that will deter some voters from casting their ballot.
Just to note the following states were up for grabs on Super Tuesday include: Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Virginia, Vermont and Wyoming. Trump was triumphant in winning seven states including Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Arkansas, Vermont and Virginia. I found it somewhat hilarious to see New Jersey Governor Chris Christie standing by his side after making so many blows to Trump when he was competing against him. He looked quite uncomfortable and Twitter went into overload mode making comments and sharing their thoughts on the situation.
Ted Cruz was victorious in only two states: Texas, Oklahoma and Alaska. He may not have triumphed in as many states as Trump, but it is still apparent that there are voters out there who consider Cruz a viable candidate. The same sentiment could be echoed to a degree for Marco Rubio who managed to win the state of Minnesota on Tuesday.
Clinton picked up a total of seven states including Arkansas, Virginia, Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama and Georgia. On the opposite side of things Bernie Sanders picked up a total of four states including Minnesota, Colorado, Oklahoma and Vermont. So it’s still a battle for Sanders and Clinton, while some could argue that Rubio, Kasich and Carson are nearly dead in the water at this point. They’d have to run the tables to secure the nomination, which might be difficult for those three candidates to do.
It looks apparent that Republicans are definitely coming out in droves to vote and it could very much energize the Republican base, but by no point would I make the argument that Trump is a slam dunk for the nomination. He has ruffled some feathers and there are still plenty more states still in contention that will determine what voters think about his rhetoric. I did find myself slightly surprised to discover that the number of delegates needed to secure the Republican Party nomination is slightly lower than what is needed to secure the nomination for the Democratic Party.
Super Tuesday has given a glimmer to America where things could be headed come November 2016: a battle between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Am I counting out Mr. Sanders or Mr. Cruz and Mr. Rubio? No. But for any of those candidates to take out their primary opponent, they will have to skewer them in the upcoming debate or have some momentum go into the next few primaries and gather up some delegates putting Clinton or Trump in a tough position.
One thing I can say is this is becoming the most talking about election since 2008, and in my opinion anytime the conversation heightens where we are getting more and more people to head to the polls and vote that is a good sign.
