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What Is Super Tuesday?
People following the Democratic Party process for choosing its presidential nominee will watch the events of March 3 closely. The day is known as Super Tuesday.
Reporters and political experts coined the term many years ago. It describes the day during the presidential election season when more states hold nominating elections than any other day. For the candidates, Super Tuesday is arguably the most important day for their chances to receive the party’s nomination.
Fourteen states and one U.S. territory will be holding votes on that day. Among them are two of the nation’s biggest states, California and Texas. The results will establish how many delegates each candidate earns. A total of 1,357 delegates will be decided. That is 34 percent of the total number of delegates needed to win the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in July.
Currently, the leading candidate is Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Other top candidates include former Vice President Joe Biden; former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg; former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg; Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar; Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren; and business investor Tom Steyer.
The race in the Democratic Party is getting the most attention because President Trump has only token opposition within the Republican Party.
Who will have the most support on Super Tuesday?
Political experts say Sanders is in the best position to do well. He had strong finishes in some of the earlier state contests. On Super Tuesday, he will have strong support in his home state of Vermont. And he is leading in public opinion studies in California and some other states.
However, Bloomberg could provide competition. News reports estimate that he has spent $400 million dollars on advertisements supporting his candidacy. He did not take part in the first four nominating votes.
Biden also could do well.
In addition, Warren is expected to do well in her home state of Massachusetts. Klobuchar is expected to gain the most delegates in her state of Minnesota.
Super Tuesday will force many of the candidates to make tough decisions. A poor showing on Super Tuesday will make raising additional campaign money difficult.
In contrast, doing well on Super Tuesday has historically been a good sign for a candidate seeking the nomination. During the 2000 campaign, both Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush secured their nominations with wins on Super Tuesday. And in 2016, Republican Trump won seven of 10 states.
I’m Mario Ritter, Jr.
Mario Ritter Jr. adapted this Associated Press report for VOA Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor.
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Words in This Story
coin –v. to create a new word or phrase that other people begin to use
token –adj. something that describes someone included to prevent criticism for leaving them out unfairly