When the biggest haul of the U.S. presidential primary race comes on “Super Tuesday,” millions of Americans will vote – and many of them will count for nothing.
In the primary system, it is the number of delegates allocated that counts more than the popular vote count.
Republican and Democratic nominating contests held every four years in the United States serve to elect delegates to the national conventions, where they formally select their party’s presidential nominee.
Most of the 15 states holding primaries on Super Tuesday award them on a winner-take-all basis, meaning a strong second place can result in no delegates for that candidate.
It’s a system that tends to favor favorites, and for Nikki Haley, Donald Trump’s only remaining challenger for the Republican nomination, it’s a system that has blunted her already slim chances.
Haley won 40 percent of the vote in her home state of South Carolina but received just three delegates, while Trump added 47 to his seemingly unassailable total.
On Sunday night, Haley won her first primary victory, in Washington, D.C., with 19 delegates.
With 2,429 Republican delegates from across the country, Trump needs at least 1,215 to secure his nomination.
Having won the first eight state and territory contests, he already has more than 247 delegates in his column, compared to Haley’s 24 before Super Tuesday, when more than a third of the national Republican total is up for grabs.
Trump’s dominance is such that he could cross the magic threshold as early as March 19, even if the primary calendar extends into early June.
On the Democratic side, outgoing President Biden is a real lock.
The number of delegates differs between parties, but the process is similar. There are currently 3,934 Democratic delegates at stake, and Biden’s magic number for victory is 1,968. He already has 206 delegates and could also be nominated in March.
That means the rematch between Biden and Trump – who will be the oldest pair of candidates – will involve one of the longest presidential campaigns in US history.
The Republican National Convention is scheduled for July in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, while Democrats will gather for their convention in August in Chicago.
Delegates also support the party’s vice presidential nominee, chosen by the presidential candidate and often announced a few days before the convention.
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