Recently, the 2016 Presidential campaign has been taking up a lot of time in newspapers, websites, and TV broadcasts. Understandably so, as the President of the United States of America is a really important position in the nation! We’ve heard a lot about the candidates themselves (especially Donald Trump, who seemed to have taken over the media this year), the Republican and Democratic debates, and the rallies and campaign work of the candidates as they compete to win their respective parties’ primaries. March 1 was “Super Tuesday” meaning that several states’ primaries took place (Ohio, Illinois, North Carolina, Florida), and the massive amount of delegates determined that day can have a huge impact on who will win primaries.
So, how do primaries work exactly? Basically, there is a set number of delegates needed for a candidate to become his or her party’s presidential candidate (1,237 for the Republican party and 2,383 for the Democratic party) for the official presidential election in November. Each state holds a different number of delegates, and a candidate who wins in that state gains all of those delegates. There are also “superdelegates” that can support either candidates regardless of each states’ results, but they only exist for the Democratic primary. The more delegates a state holds, the more important that state is in primary elections. Only voters who are registered as Republican or Democrat can participate in the voting process for primaries (which are a little anxious for me to watch right now, as I am by choice Unaffiliated on my voter card).
Republican Candidates: Trump, Cruz, Kasich
1,237 needed for nomination · 1,061 available
Donald Trump won the Florida Republican primary (gaining 99 delegates), which put him well in the lead, along with his wins in North Carolina and Illinois. His victory in Florida also caused Republican primary candidate Marco Rubio to drop out of the presidential race. However, John Kasich took Ohio’s 66 delegates from Trump, despite his recent rally in Dayton, Ohio. This means that Trump will not necessarily be nominated; it could still go to another Republican candidate.
Democratic Candidates: Clinton and Sanders
2,383 needed for nomination · 2,308 available
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton won several majors victories this week, including the states of Ohio, Florida, North Carolina and Illinois, putting her well in the lead over candidate Bernie Sanders. However, it is not impossible for Sanders to catch up, as Clinton still needs plenty of delegates to win, and he probably won’t drop out of the race at this point.
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