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Essential question
What do this year's primary elections tell us about the United States?Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton widened leads in their respective races on Super Tuesday, as voters in 11 states and American Samoa took to the polls. Each election cycle, Super Tuesday serves as the day when the most states hold primary elections, making it vital for presidential candidates to perform well in as many states as possible in order to secure delegates and win their party's nomination. Trump won 8 of the 11 Republican races. Sen. Ted Cruz took his home state of Texas and Oklahoma while Florida Sen. Marco Rubio won Minnesota. By the end of the night, Trump had raised his total number of delegates to more than 270, significantly higher than Cruz's 149. To win the nomination, a Republican candidate must win at least 1,237 delegates. On the Democratic side, Clinton ended the night with wins in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia, raising her delegate count to 1,000. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders managed to take Colorado, Minnesota, Oklahoma and his home state. Sanders trails Clinton by more than 700 delegates at this point. A Democrat needs 2,383 delegates to win the nomination. Both Trump and Clinton did well in the South. Already at a disadvantage before Tuesday, their opponents will have to pick up their campaigns if they hope to stay in the race. Although Cruz achieved a critical win in Texas, he still trails Trump significantly. Sanders will need to improve his standing with African-American voters, who came out strongly for Clinton in the South.
Key terms
Super Tuesday — one or more Tuesdays in each presidential primary season during which the most states hold primary contests, making it the biggest single-day delegate haul delegates — individuals chosen to represent their state at the Republican and Democratic party conventions where each party selects its candidate prior to a presidential electionWarm up questions ( before watching the video)
- What is Super Tuesday?
- Do you know how many candidates are still in the presidential race?
- What is the main goal of presidential candidates at this point in the election cycle?
Critical thinking questions ( after watching the video)
- Why was it critical for Cruz to win Texas?
- What do Clinton and Trump's speeches during Super Tuesday say about their confidence going forward?
- Is it fair to say that Super Tuesday "makes or breaks" campaigns? Why or why not?
