A Surprising Super Tuesday

Former Vice President Joe Biden had many astounding victories on Super Tuesday, making him the front runner in terms of delegates for the Democratic nomination.

Fourteen states and one American territory cast their votes for their favorite democratic candidate on March 4th, also known as Super Tuesday, the biggest Election Day until November. This year, Super Tuesday had the power to destroy campaigns or propel them to the White House.

Biden’s campaign made a huge comeback after unfortunate results in early voting states, foreshadowed by his outstanding win in South Carolina. His staffers dubbed his victories as a part of “Joementum”.

Biden won Texas, the state with the second-highest amount of delegates to win, even when the stag was predicted to go to Bernie Sanders. Biden also got Alabama, Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Virginia, bringing his current delegate total to 531. 

Former presidential candidates, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, are potentially partial contributors to Biden’s “Joementum”. They dropped out on the 2nd and 3rd of March, respectively, and immediately endorsed the former Vice President. 

This is clearly illustrated in Minnesota, Senator Klobuchar’s state. Minnesota was overwhelmingly won by Sen. Sanders in 2016, but won by Biden in 2020. Klobuchar is extremely popular in Minnesota and her support of Biden likely swayed many voters his way.

Sanders won his home state of Vermont, along with Colorado and Utah, defying hopes and predictions for many more wins. Sanders is currently leading in California, but only 54% of the vote is accounted for. His delegate total is currently at 468. 

Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg won American Samoa with 175 votes, followed by native-born American Samoan, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. The morning following Super Tuesday, Bloomberg dropped out of the race and endorsed Biden.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren had a lackluster night, neither winning Oklahoma (the state she was raised in) nor Massachusetts (the state she represents), ceding them to Biden. 

After announcing that she would meet with her staffers and reassess her campaign on March fourth, Warren dropped out of the race on the fifth. It is now unclear which candidate she will now endorse, if any.

Gabbard may only have one delegate, but she is seeming to want to stay in, at least until the primary in her native Hawaii on April fourth. Gabbard told Fox News on February 19th that she is still very focused on becoming the Democratic nominee. Gabbard is still in for the long haul, despite her not being in a debate since November and her poor results from 2020 caucuses and primaries.

Currently, the results indicate a two-way race between moderate Democrat Joe Biden and Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders. But, at this point, it is anyone’s game in the race to be the next U.S. President.