War for the White House 2016: 3/1 - 3/7
Reed Cleland
Democrat and Republican presidential candidates competed in two of the most significant days in their War for the White House this week. Super Tuesday and Super Weekend were the two largest competitions of the war so far. Let’s take a look at what happened:
Pre-Super Tuesday and Super Weekend
Democrats: Before Super Tuesday and Super Weekend, Bernie Sanders was seen as the underdog candidate. Indeed, he still is considered the underdog. Although the two candidates effectively tied in Iowa and Sanders handily won New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton’s firewall ignited in South Carolina, spreading throughout the Southern states. She smashed Sanders in South Carolina by nearly fifty points.
Republicans: The number of Republican candidates did not disappear as quickly as the number of Democrats had. Slowly but surely, the number dwindled to six candidates in South Carolina and then to five after the suspension of Jeb Bush’s campaign. Five candidates, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, and John Kasich were left to battle it out on Super Tuesday.
Post-Super Tuesday and Super Weekend
Democrats: Of the eleven states that voted on Super Tuesday, four of them went to Sanders and seven to Clinton. Sanders found his strength in the Midwest, as well as in his home state of Vermont. Clinton’s firewall ignited in every state from Texas to Virginia, as well as Massachusetts. Super Weekend saw Sanders bounce off the wall when he took Maine, Kansas, and Nebraska. Clinton only won Louisiana. Furthermore, Sanders stunned the entire political field when he won Michigan, the largest political upset in history. Many believe that Michigan provided Sanders the turnaround he needed in order to win other Rust Belt states, as well as narrow the delegate count between himself and Clinton.
Republicans: Donald Trump won seven of the eleven states on Super Tuesday, Cruz won three, and Rubio won Minnesota. Ben Carson dissolved his campaign the following Friday and Rubio was dealt a severe blow; many thought he would be the poster-boy of the Republican establishment. On Super Weekend, Senator Cruz made a slight comeback, winning Kansas and Maine, although Trump won in Louisiana and Kentucky. Furthermore, Trump came away with Michigan, Mississippi, and Hawaii while Cruz was victorious in Idaho. Trump appears to be slipping further away from his rivals in delegate numbers. Unless Rubio or John Kasich can make comebacks by winning their respective home states of Florida and Ohio, they would appear to be out of the race for good.
Be sure to watch the next contests on March 15th, a day many people are referring to as ´Super Tuesday 3´. Will Bernie Sanders pull off another political upset against a once inevitable Hillary Clinton? Will Donald Trump become unstoppable, or will Kasich, Rubio, and Cruz hold on? These many questions will be answered this Tuesday, March 15th, by Americans in Florida, Illinois, Ohio, North Carolina, and Missouri.
