Political Lingo: What is SUPER TUESDAY?
As you watch your local and national news, you hear many references to “SUPER TUESDAY”. Well, what exactly does that mean? As you read that Hillary Clinton is regrouping for a big win on “SUPER TUESDAY”, you may wonder why that is so important. So let’s take a look at how the primaries and the ‘hunt for delegates’ is shaping up in 2008.
First, everyone got a close-up look at the Primary system in Iowa, as national news explained the difference between the Republican and Democratic caucus procedures. It was fascinating to learn that democratic delegates stand in groups and persuade each other who to support. The Republican system is just as primitive, with handwritten sheets of paper replacing ballots and voting machines. There were lots of upsets with this system, including Mike Huckabee beating Mitt Romney, and Barack Obama and John Edwards BOTH scoring higher than Hillary Clinton.
Then we watched the happenings in New Hampshire, with John McCain moving ahead and Hillary Clinton retaking her lead. Meanwhile, the Wyoming Republican primary went mostly unnoticed.
Next, it’s on to Michigan and a three-way race for the Republican delegates. There are NO Democratic delegates to be won - all 156 delegates were stripped from the state by the National Democratic Party, as punishment for holding their primary earlier than the party wanted.
JUST A NOTE: On November 8, 2007 the Republican National Committee voted 121 to 9 to sanction 5 states for beginning their Presidential Nominating Process prior to February 5th, the aforementioned “SUPER TUESDAY”. So Florida, New Hampshire, Michigan, South Carolina, and Wyoming each lose half of their delegates to the National Convention. This means that wins in these early states supposedly won’t have the same impact as in previous years.
Following, on Jan. 19th, it’s Nevada for the Democrats and South Carolina for the Republicans, then the Dems on Jan. 26, also in South Carolina. (The Republicans still have not established a date for Nevada primaries.)
Then, it’s SUPER TUESDAY on February 5th!!!
February 5th is a big day with 22 states holding their Democratic primaries. This may very well be the turning point for the Democratic candidates, as about 2000 of the total of just over 4000 Democratic delegates are up for grabs. It’s a big day for the Republicans also, because 21 states are holding their Republican primaries.
By SUPER TUESDAY, held this year on February 5th, usually both fields will have narrowed, with only serious contenders continuing to campaign for their party nominations in September. But, in this year of upsets and surprises, the remaining primaries can go in unpredictable directions. It remains to be seen if John McCain can continue his momentum, or whether Rudy Guiliani or Fred Thompson will move to the forefront. (You may have noticed that I left Ron Paul out of the equation, but . . .) Will Hillary or Obama surge ahead?
SUPER TUESDAY has traditionally been the turning point in past campaigns, but in 2008, the only thing that is certain is that no one really knows how the nominations will shape up. We’re in this for the long haul, folks.
Tags: Barack Obama, delegates, Democrats, Fred Thompson, Hillary Clinton, Iowa caucus, John Edwards, John McCain, Michigan Primary, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Nevada, New Hampshire Primary, Politics, Presidential, Presidential primary, Republicans, Ron Paul, South Carolina Primary, Super Tuesday, Wyoming CaucusLeave a Reply
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