The biggest day of the Democratic primary could reshape the presidential race.
After a month of early-state contests, the Democratic primary is about to go national: Voters in 14 states and one territory will weigh in on the presidential race this Tuesday, March 3 — Super Tuesday.
Just over a third of all delegates to the Democratic National Convention in July are up for grabs, including California’s 415-delegate haul. There are just five candidates left in the race: former Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, billionaire Mike Bloomberg, and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.
In addition to California, a significant swath of the South — Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia — will vote on Tuesday, as will Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Utah, Texas, and Vermont. The US territory of American Samoa will also caucus Tuesday.
The national scale of Super Tuesday means that poll closings will be staggered by time zone across the country. The earliest polls close at 7 pm Eastern — with the possible exception of a quick caucus in American Samoa — and the last, in California, close at 11 pm Eastern.
However, it’s likely that we won’t see complete results from California (and possibly Texas) on the night of the primary.
For Sanders, Super Tuesday is a chance to potentially lock in an unassailable plurality of delegates with strong performances in California, Texas, and elsewhere. However, his status as the national frontrunner for the Democratic nomination could be under threat following a strong performance by Biden in South Carolina on Saturday.
Additionally, much of the moderate lane — specifically former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar — has exited the race and lent their support to Biden.
Super Tuesday also offers a first electoral test for Bloomberg: While he’s appeared on two debate stages and in hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of ads since declaring his candidacy in November, Tuesday will be the first time his name appears on a ballot in the Democratic primary.
Warren, meanwhile, will go into Tuesday on the defensive: Sanders currently has an advantage of more than 5 points in the FiveThirtyEight polling average for Massachusetts, and losing her home state could be a devastating blow to the Massachusetts senator’s campaign.
Follow along below for Vox’s coverage of Super Tuesday 2020, including live results, breaking news updates, analysis, and more.
Author: Cameron Peters
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