99-739: Super Tuesday is the United States presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of U.S. states hold primary elections and caucuses . Approximately one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominating conventions can be won on Super Tuesday, more than on any other day. The results on Super Tuesday are therefore a strong indicator of the likely eventual presidential nominee of each political party. The particular states holding primaries on Super Tuesday have varied from year to year because each state selects its election day separate from one another. Tuesday
198-409: A binding primary or caucus, in which the results of the election depending on state law or party rules legally bind some or all of the delegates to vote for a particular candidate at the national convention, for a certain number of ballots or until the candidate releases the delegates. Some binding primaries are winner-take-all contests, in which all of a state's delegates are required to vote for
297-545: A primary election or a caucus and on what date those contests are held. State governments or state party organizations choose the date they want for their states' primary or caucus. With the broadened use of the modern presidential primary system, following the chaotic 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, states have tried to increase their influence in the nomination process. One tactic has been to create geographic blocs to encourage candidates to spend time in
396-399: A " brokered convention " occurs: all pledged delegates are "released" after the first round of voting and are able to switch their allegiance to a different candidate, and then additional rounds take place until there is a winner with an absolute majority. The staggered nature of the presidential primary season allows candidates to concentrate their resources in each area of the country one at
495-932: A Democratic caucus. The Republican candidates could win about half of the 1,237 delegates needed to secure their party's presidential nomination. The two remaining Democrats were after 880 delegates, roughly one-third of those needed to win. The number of delegates from Texas is much greater than the other states: 155 for Republicans and 252 for Democrats. The Democratic primaries and caucuses concluded with Hillary Clinton winning Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, and Bernie Sanders winning Colorado, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Vermont. Clinton received 486 delegates, and Sanders received 321. The Republican primaries and caucuses concluded with Donald Trump winning Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Vermont, and Virginia; Ted Cruz winning Alaska, Oklahoma, and Texas; and Marco Rubio winning Minnesota. John Kasich and Ben Carson were also in
594-607: A Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission . Thus, presidential candidates officially announce their intentions to run that early so they can start raising or spending the money needed to mount their nationwide campaigns. During the first six months of the year, primaries and caucuses are separately held in each of the 50 states; the District of Columbia , and each of the five permanently inhabited US territories of American Samoa , Guam ,
693-554: A combination of both. These primaries and caucuses are staggered, generally beginning sometime in January or February, and ending about mid-June before the general election in November. State and local governments run the primary elections, while caucuses are private events that are directly run by the political parties themselves. A state's primary election or caucus is usually an indirect election : instead of voters directly selecting
792-476: A conservative favorite son candidate from the south to receive a lead in delegate totals and produce momentum for the other primaries. Other southern presidential candidates had fared poorly in the initial contests in Iowa and New Hampshire which allowed more liberal candidates to gain the nomination. Alabama, Florida, and Georgia designated the second Tuesday of March as the date for their presidential primaries and
891-548: A decisive win in the South Carolina primary helped former Vice President Joe Biden win the Democratic presidential primary by eliminating several rivals and triggering strong wins across the country on Super Tuesday. Biden had previously struggled in Iowa and New Hampshire. The Tuesday in February or March when the greatest number of states hold primary elections and caucuses is known as " Super Tuesday ". Because it
990-416: A different delegation to give the leading candidate the honor of casting the majority-making vote. If no single candidate has secured a majority of delegates (including both pledged and unpledged) during the first vote, then a " brokered convention " results. All pledged delegates are then "released" and are able to switch their allegiance to a different candidate. Thereafter, the nomination is decided through
1089-498: A group of unpledged delegates. Republicans have three At-Large delegates selected at the state convention from all the states and territories, 168 in number. These are each states' two national committeepersons and the state chairperson. In Democratic primaries through 2016, about 85% of delegates to the Democratic National Convention are "pledged delegates" who are apportioned to candidates according to
SECTION 10
#17327759925921188-404: A handful of states hold caucuses. Instead of going to a polling place, voters attend local private events run by the political parties, and cast their selections there. One disadvantage of caucuses is that the state party runs the process directly instead of having the state and local governments run them. Another is that most election laws do not normally apply to caucuses. Nearly all states have
1287-405: A local, county or state party convention, which then, in turn, selects pledged delegates to the national convention. A handful of states may also practice non-binding "beauty contests", which are public opinion surveys for use by caucus delegates to select candidates to a state convention, which then in turn selects delegates to the national convention. In many states, only voters registered with
1386-547: A major impact on the races, while voters in California and other large states which traditionally hold their primaries in June generally end up having a significantly reduced say because the races are usually over by then. As a result, more states vie for earlier primaries, known as "front-loading", to claim a greater influence in the process. The national parties have used penalties and awarded bonus delegates in efforts to stagger
1485-606: A particular person running for president, they determine the number of delegates a candidate will receive from their respective state for each party's national convention . These delegates then in turn select their party's presidential nominee. The first state in the United States to hold its presidential primary was North Dakota in 1912, following on Oregon 's successful implementation of its system in 1910. Each party determines how many delegates it allocates to each state. Along with those "pledged" delegates chosen during
1584-402: A party may vote in that party's primary, known as a closed primary . In some states, a semi-closed primary is practiced, in which voters unaffiliated with a party ( independents ) may choose a party primary in which to vote. In an open primary , any voter may vote in any party's primary. A semi-open primary occurs when a voter must choose a party-specific ballot to cast, instead of being provided
1683-481: A presidential primary as an easier way to come into compliance with the new national Democratic Party rules. The result was that many more future delegates would be selected by a state presidential primary. The Republicans also adopted many more state presidential primaries. By 1992, Democrats had primaries in 40 states and Republicans in 39. Both major political parties of the U.S.—the Democratic Party and
1782-598: A process of alternating political horse trading , and additional rounds of re-votes. A customary ceremonial practice has been for the losing candidate(s) in the primary season to "release" their delegates at the convention and exhort them to vote for the winning nominee as a sign of party unity. Thus, the vote tallied on the convention floor is unanimous or nearly so. For example, during the 2008 Democratic National Convention , Hillary Clinton (who only captured about 22% of delegates compared to Barack Obama 's approximate 72%) moved to nominate Obama by acclamation, making it
1881-413: A push by independent Senator Bernie Sanders , who ran as a Democrat, the party voted in favor of superdelegate reform, such that in future presidential elections most superdelegates will be bound to their state primary results. Franchise in a primary or caucus is governed by rules established by the state party, although the states may impose other regulations. While most states hold primary elections,
1980-782: A region. One motivation for the creation of Super Tuesday has been criticism and reform proposals of the current primary system , many of which argue for creating a National Primary or a regional primary, such as the Rotating Regional Primary System adopted by the National Association of Secretaries of State in 1999, among other proposals . The 1984 primary season had three "Super Tuesdays". Decided on "Super Tuesday III" were delegates from five states: South Dakota , New Mexico , West Virginia , California and New Jersey . The proportional nature of delegate selection meant that Walter Mondale
2079-654: A result, even a little-known, underfunded candidate can use retail politics to meet intimately with interested voters and perform better than expected. The Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary have produced a number of headline-making upsets in history: In 2008 Nevada was given the official "First in the West" status reflecting the growing importance of the West as well as Nevada's electoral bellwether status. America's increasing ethnic diversity, urbanization, and geographic redistribution made influential political leaders come to
SECTION 20
#17327759925922178-538: A single ballot where the voter must choose on the ballot itself which party's primary to vote in. In all of these systems, a voter may participate in only one primary; that is, a voter who casts a vote for a candidate standing for the Republican nomination for president cannot cast a vote for a candidate standing for the Democratic nomination, or vice versa. A few states once staged a blanket primary , in which voters could vote for one candidate in multiple primaries, but
2277-514: A single station in Dallas for a week would cost around $ 300,000. The Southern Legislative Conference reported that in the eight months prior to Super Tuesday, the four Democratic candidates spent an average of 75 days in the south, while the three Republican candidates spent an average of 51 days. Gore spent 121 days in the south. Jackson was the only candidate that spent more time in the south than in Iowa and New Hampshire. From 1996 to 2004, most of
2376-462: A territory it did not participate in the general election in November. The Democrats Abroad primary , for Democrats living outside of the United States, started voting on March 3, and concluded on March 10. 1,357, or 34.1%, of the 3,979 pledged delegates to be awarded to the candidates in the Democratic primaries were allotted on Super Tuesday. 1,617 total delegates were available to be awarded to
2475-431: A time instead of campaigning in every state simultaneously. In some of the less populous states, this allows campaigning to take place on a much more personal scale. However, the overall results of the primary season may not be representative of the U.S. electorate as a whole: voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and other less populous states which traditionally hold their primaries and caucuses in late-January/February usually have
2574-583: A unanimous vote. Campaigning for president often begins almost a year before the New Hampshire primary , almost two years before the presidential election . This is largely because federal campaign finance laws including the Federal Election Campaign Act state that a candidate who intends to receive contributions aggregating in excess of $ 5,000 or make expenditures aggregating in excess of $ 5,000, among others, must first file
2673-403: Is held in various states from geographically and socially diverse regions of the country, it typically represents a presidential candidate's first test of national electability. More delegates can be won on Super Tuesday than on any other single day of the primary calendar, thus convincing wins during this day have usually propelled candidates to their party's nomination. With the broadened use of
2772-418: Is required to reschedule the primary accordingly. In recent elections, the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary have garnered over half the media attention paid to the entire selection process. After Iowa and New Hampshire, the front runners then attempt to solidify their status, while the others fight to become #2. Because these states are small, campaigning takes place on a much more personal scale. As
2871-552: Is the only method in which voters in Puerto Rico , Guam , and other U.S. territories can have a say in the presidential race. Under the U.S. Constitution, U.S. territories are not represented in the Electoral College , and thus voters residing in those areas are basically ineligible to vote in the general election. On the other hand, as stated above, the primaries and caucuses are non-governmental party affairs. Both
2970-540: Is the traditional day for elections in the United States. The phrase Super Tuesday has been used to refer to presidential primary elections since at least 1976. It is an unofficial term used by journalists and political pundits. United States politics are dominated by two major political parties, the Democratic Party and Republican Party , which choose their presidential candidates in nominating conventions attended by delegates from states. State law determines how each party's delegates are chosen in each state by either
3069-500: The 2008 Republican presidential nomination in March, while during that same month Barack Obama held a substantial lead in pledged delegates in the Democratic Party primaries . In 2012, Obama faced no major challenger in the Democratic Party primaries since he had the advantage of incumbency ( see below ) , while Mitt Romney gained enough delegates to be declared the presumptive Republican nominee by late April. In 2012, both
Super Tuesday - Misplaced Pages Continue
3168-573: The Democratic Leadership Council and hoped to have Governor Chuck Robb or Senator Sam Nunn seek the presidential nomination, but both declined. Michael Dukakis , Dick Gephardt , Al Gore and Jesse Jackson campaigned in the Super Tuesday states. Gephardt and Gore were both southerners, Jackson sought the high percentage of black voters in the region, and Dukakis focused on Texas and Florida where he could receive
3267-576: The Northern Mariana Islands , Puerto Rico , and the US Virgin Islands are instead assigned a fixed number of pledged delegates. States and territories who schedule their primary or caucus later in the primary season may also get additional bonus delegates. The Republican Party's rules since 2008 leave more discretion to the states in choosing a method of allocating pledged delegates. As a result, states variously applied
3366-516: The Northern Mariana Islands , Puerto Rico , and the US Virgin Islands . Each party sets its own calendar and rules, and in some cases actually administers the election. However, to reduce expenses and encourage turnout, the major parties' primaries are usually held the same day and may be consolidated with other state elections. The primary election itself is administered by local governments according to state law. In some cases, state law determines how delegates will be awarded and who may participate in
3465-476: The Republican Party —officially nominate their candidate for president at their respective national conventions . Each of these conventions is attended by a number of delegates selected in accordance with the given party's bylaws. The results of the presidential primaries and caucuses bind many of these delegates, known as pledged delegates, to vote for a particular candidate. Both parties also have
3564-786: The Republican primaries , incumbent President Donald Trump defeated challenger Bill Weld in the Super Tuesday Republican primaries. Among the Super Tuesday states, Trump was uncontested in Maine and Minnesota, as both the Maine and Minnesota state Republican parties left Weld off their ballots. The Virginia Republican Party went a step further and decided to cancel its primary altogether and select their delegates directly at its state party convention. Super Tuesday took place on March 5, 2024. Iowa's Democratic mail-in caucus finished accepting votes on Super Tuesday as well. 865 of
3663-614: The Republicans and the Democrats moved their Florida primary to January 31, which was an earlier date than past election cycles. In response, other states also changed their primary election dates for 2012, in order to claim a greater influence, creating a cascade of changes in other states. This followed what happened in 2008 when Nevada moved its caucuses to January, causing other states to also move their primaries to earlier dates. Senate majority leader and Nevada senator Harry Reid
3762-558: The 2008 election, but in 2012 both states ended up moving them back to June. California lawmakers stated that consolidating their presidential and statewide primary election in June saves them about $ 100 million, and that it is not worth the cost when there is generally no competitive balance between the two political parties within California. In 2005, the primary commission of the Democratic National Committee began considering removing Iowa and New Hampshire from
3861-555: The 50 U.S. states , the District of Columbia , and five territories of the United States holds either primary elections or caucuses to help nominate individual candidates for president of the United States . This process is designed to choose the candidates that will represent their political parties in the general election . The United States Constitution has never specified this process; political parties have developed their own procedures over time. Some states hold only primary elections, some hold only caucuses, and others use
3960-604: The Democratic and Republican parties, as well as other third parties, have agreed to let these territories participate in the presidential nomination process. In the two major party's rules, "territories" are referred to as "states", which can be carried over in discussion and media implying there are more than 50 states. During the convention, there is generally a roll call of the votes. Each delegation announces its vote tallies, usually accompanied with some boosterism of their state or territory. The delegation may pass, nominally to retally their delegates' preferences, but often to allow
4059-556: The Northern Marianas Islands. The Republican races were particularly significant as four of these, excepting the North Carolina primary, were the first in the cycle to use winner-takes-all voting systems. Republican contests held prior to March 14 were only permitted to use proportional systems. There were 697 delegates at stake for Democrats and 358 delegates for Republicans. Some media sources referred to
Super Tuesday - Misplaced Pages Continue
4158-411: The Republican candidate in the last presidential election. Each party's bylaws also specify which current and former elected officeholders and party leaders qualify as unpledged delegates. Because of possible deaths, resignations, or the results of intervening or special elections, the final number of these superdelegates may not be known until the week of the convention. The primary and caucus system
4257-458: The Republican delegates were chosen in these primaries and caucuses, while Democrats chose 1,420. (federal) = federal holidays, (abbreviation) = state/territorial holidays, (religious) = religious holidays, (cultural) = holiday related to a specific racial/ethnic group or sexual minority , (week) = week-long holidays, (month) = month-long holidays, (36) = Title 36 Observances and Ceremonies United States presidential primary Each of
4356-559: The Republicans, it is considered a "firewall" to protect establishment favorites and frontrunners in the presidential nomination race, being designed to stop the momentum of insurgent candidates who could have received a boost from strong showings in Iowa and New Hampshire. From its inception in 1980 through the election of 2008 , the winner of the South Carolina Republican presidential primary has gone on to win
4455-636: The Southern Legislative Conference lobbied other states to join. 864 Democratic and 564 Republican delegates came from the southern states in the 1988 primary. Frank Fahrenkopf , chair of the Republican National Committee, stated that "Southern Democrats intended Super Tuesday to be a way to moderate their party", but that "the Democrats have handed us a tremendous opportunity to win over the disaffected majority of their party". Southern politicians formed
4554-513: The Southern primaries were held the week after Super Tuesday, on a day dubbed "Southern Tuesday" by news commentators. In 1992, after losing earlier primaries, Democrat Bill Clinton won several Southern primaries on Super Tuesday en route to winning the 1992 Democratic presidential nomination and later the presidency. Incumbent George H. W. Bush faced opposition from Pat Buchanan in the Republican primaries that year . In 1996, Super Tuesday
4653-411: The advantage of the bandwagon effect . Also, candidates can ignore primaries that fall after the nomination has already been secured, and would owe less to those states politically. As a result, rather than stretching from March to July, most primaries take place in a compressed time frame in February and March. National party leaders also have an interest in compressing the primary calendar, as it enables
4752-501: The candidates. This was driven in large part by the two most populous states in the country , California and Texas, allotting 415 and 228 delegates, respectively, on Super Tuesday. Joe Biden won Alabama, Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Bernie Sanders won California, Colorado, Utah, and his home state of Vermont. Michael Bloomberg won American Samoa. Elizabeth Warren and Tulsi Gabbard failed to win any contest. In
4851-636: The case in both the Florida Democratic primary and the Florida Republican primary in 2008. The first binding event, in which a candidate can secure convention delegates, is traditionally the Iowa caucus , usually held in late January or early February of the presidential election year. It is generally followed by the New Hampshire primary , the first primary by tradition since 1920 and by New Hampshire state law. New Hampshire law states
4950-497: The contests on March 8 as Super Tuesday II, where two states held Democratic contests and four states held Republican contests, and referred to the March 15 contests as Super Tuesday III. Super Tuesday was on March 3, 2020. Alabama , Arkansas , California , Colorado , Maine , Massachusetts , Minnesota , North Carolina , Oklahoma , Tennessee , Texas , Utah , Vermont , and Virginia all held their presidential primaries on that date. American Samoa had its caucus that day. As
5049-426: The convention. By 1912, twelve states either selected delegates in primaries, used a preferential primary, or both. By 1920 there were 20 states with primaries, but some went back, and from 1936 to 1968, 12 states used them. The primary received its first major test in the 1912 election pitting incumbent president William Howard Taft against challengers Theodore Roosevelt and Robert La Follette . Roosevelt proved
SECTION 50
#17327759925925148-547: The core leaders in this partisanship: Hamilton became the leader of Federalist Party while Madison co-helmed the Democratic-Republican Party with Thomas Jefferson . Starting with the 1796 election , congressional party or a state legislature party caucus selected the party's presidential candidates. Before 1820, Democratic-Republican members of Congress would nominate a single candidate from their party. That system collapsed in 1824, and since 1832
5247-570: The current Democratic Party selection rules, adopted in 2006, pledged delegates are selected under proportional representation , which requires a candidate have a minimum of 15% of a state's popular vote to receive delegates. In addition, the Democratic Party may reject any candidate under their bylaws. Each state publishes a Delegate Selection Plan that notes the mechanics of calculating the number of delegates per congressional district , and how votes are transferred from local conventions to
5346-488: The dangers of domestic political factions . Thus in the first two presidential elections, the Electoral College handled the nominations and elections in 1789 and 1792 that selected George Washington . The beginnings of the American two-party system then emerged from Washington's immediate circle of advisors. Hamilton and Madison, who wrote the aforementioned Federalist Papers against political factions, ended up being
5445-407: The election of our major party nominees. For them, the nominations are over before they have begun." Favorite son Favorite son (or favorite daughter ) is a political term. At the quadrennial American national political party conventions, a state delegation sometimes nominates a presidential candidate from the state, or less often from the state's region, who is not a viable candidate in
5544-547: The election, but neither won any states. Results from the North Dakota and Wyoming caucuses were yet to be determined, as their delegates were not required to support the winners of those contests and can freely pledge to their preferred candidate during their respective state party conventions. Additionally, several third-party primaries were held on March 1. The Libertarian Party hosted its caucus in Minnesota, which
5643-531: The expense of smaller ones. Because the candidate's time is limited, paid advertising may play a greater role. Moreover, a compressed calendar limits the ability of lesser-known candidates to corral resources and raise their visibility among voters, especially when a better-known candidate enjoys the financial and institutional backing of the party establishment. In an article from Detroit News , Tennessee Senator William (Bill) Brock said about front-loading, "Today, too many people in too many states have no voice in
5742-464: The favored Robert A. Taft , "Mr. Republican." Also, Democrat Estes Kefauver defeated incumbent president Harry S. Truman , leading the latter to decide not to run for another term. The first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary has since become a widely observed test of candidates' viability. The impetus for national adoption of the binding primary election was the chaotic 1968 Democratic National Convention . Vice President Hubert Humphrey secured
5841-422: The favorite son the state party could avoid disputes. Conversely, a party leader who has chosen a candidate might become a favorite son to keep other candidates' campaigns out of the state, or prevent a rival local politician from becoming a favorite son. The favorite son may explicitly state that the candidacy is not viable, or that the favorite son is not a candidate at all. The favorite son may hope to receive
5940-443: The five U.S. Territories are instead assigned a fixed number of pledged delegates. States and territories get bonus delegates based on whether it (if applicable) has a Republican governor, it has GOP majorities in one or all chambers of its state legislature, whether one or both of its U.S. senators are Republican, it has a GOP majority in its delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives, and whether its electoral college votes went to
6039-441: The majority of delegates from the primaries, leading the way for him to take the Democratic presidential nomination. In the 1984 Republican Party primaries , incumbent President Ronald Reagan was the only candidate to secure delegates. Proposals for holding the presidential primaries of southern states at once started in the 1970s in order to maintain and increase the region's influence in presidential elections. It would allow for
SECTION 60
#17327759925926138-446: The most popular candidate, but as most primaries were non-binding "preference" shows and held in only fourteen of the-then forty-eight states, the Republican nomination went to Taft, who controlled the convention. Seeking to boost voter turnout , New Hampshire simplified its ballot access laws in 1949. In the ensuing non-binding "beauty contest" of 1952, Republican Dwight Eisenhower demonstrated his broad voter appeal by out-polling
6237-456: The national average, and neither is in the fast-growing West or South . Conversely, states that traditionally hold their primaries in June, like California (the most populous state overall) and New Jersey (the most densely populated state), usually end up having no say in who the presidential candidate will be. As stated above , the races were usually over well before June. California and New Jersey moved their primaries to February for
6336-410: The national convention were usually selected at state conventions whose own delegates were chosen by district conventions. Sometimes they were dominated by intrigue between political bosses who controlled delegates; the national convention was far from democratic or transparent. Progressive Era reformers looked to the primary election as a way to measure popular opinion of candidates, as opposed to
6435-461: The nation—from June to March. To retain its tradition as the first primary in the country (and adhere to a state law which requires it to be), New Hampshire moved their primary forward, from early March to early January. A major reason states try to increase their influence, and vie for earlier primaries, is that in recent years the races have usually been decided before the primary season has ended in June. For example, John McCain officially clinched
6534-473: The nomination. In the 2012 Republican primaries , Newt Gingrich initially finished poorly in the early states, but then scored an upset victory in South Carolina over frontrunner Mitt Romney . However, after suffering a decisive defeat to Romney in Florida, Gingrich's campaign was relegated back to third place, leaving Rick Santorum as the main challenger to Romney for the rest of the primaries. In 2020,
6633-475: The opinion of the bosses. Florida enacted the first presidential primary in 1901. The Wisconsin direct open primary of 1905 was the first to eliminate the caucus and mandate direct selection of national convention delegates. In 1910, Oregon became the first state to establish a presidential preference primary, which requires delegates to the National Convention to support the winner of the primary at
6732-466: The other Super Tuesday March 4, 2008, one pundit said "Super Tuesday isn't so super." Super Tuesday in 2012 took place on March 6, 2012, totaling 419 delegates (18.3% of the total) in 10 states in the Republican primaries . The Democratic primaries were mostly uncontested as incumbent President Barack Obama was the assured nominee. The impact of Super Tuesday was lessened by Mitt Romney 's convincing victories preceding Super Tuesday. Frontrunner Romney
6831-433: The other candidates 10.4%. After Super Tuesday Bush held 73.5% of the 959 delegates selected so far with Dole holding 17%, Kemp 4.1%, and the remaining candidates 5.4%. Bush's victory in all but one state on Super Tuesday nearly secured him enough delegates to win the Republican presidential nomination. Bush won a majority of the vote in all southern states except for in three states, and received 85.7% of their delegates due to
6930-533: The party to reduce the chance of a bruising internecine battle and to preserve resources for the general campaign. In such a primary season, however, many primaries will fall on the same day, forcing candidates to choose where to spend their time and resources. Indeed, Super Tuesday was created deliberately to increase the influence of the South. When states cannot agree to coordinate primaries, however, attention flows to larger states with large numbers of delegates at
7029-531: The practice was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 2000 case of California Democratic Party v. Jones as violating the freedom of assembly guaranteed by the First Amendment . Both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party usually modify their delegate selection rules between presidential elections, including how delegates are allocated to each state and territory. Under
7128-640: The preferred mechanism for nomination has been a national convention . The first national convention to nominate a presidential candidate was called by the Anti-Masonic Party in 1831, as they could not use the caucus system because they had no congressmen. The party leaders instead called for a national meeting of supporters to set the party's candidate. This convention was held in Baltimore, Maryland , on September 26, 1831, which selected William Wirt as their presidential candidate. Delegates to
7227-485: The presidential nomination despite not winning a single primary under his own name. After this, a Democratic National Committee -commissioned panel led by Senator George McGovern – the McGovern–Fraser Commission – recommended that states adopt new rules to assure wider participation. A large number of states, faced with the need to conform to more detailed rules for the selection of national delegates, chose
7326-515: The primaries and caucuses, state delegations to both the Democratic and Republican conventions also include "unpledged" delegates who have a vote. For Republicans, they consist of the three top party officials who serve At Large from each state and territory. Democrats have a more expansive group of unpledged delegates called " superdelegates ", who are party leaders and elected officials. If no single candidate has secured an absolute majority of delegates (including both pledged and unpledged), then
7425-433: The primaries being winner-take-all. Pat Robertson 's campaign was weakened following a defeat in South Carolina and Super Tuesday. Dukakis and Gore spent $ 3 million on the Super Tuesday states while Gephardt spent $ 1.5 million. Jackson was critical of the expensive requirements of running a campaign in all of the states. His campaign spent $ 447,644 in total for Super Tuesday, but Jackson noted how adequate advertising time in
7524-565: The primary day. Campaigning in California, he remarked that while the "bad news" was that he and his wife Lee had to campaign separately, "[t]he good news for her is that she campaigns in California while I campaign in New Jersey." When his wife interjected that she "got to hold a koala bear ", Hart replied that "I won't tell you what I got to hold: samples from a toxic waste dump." While Hart won California, he lost New Jersey despite having led in polls by as much as 15 points. Mondale secured
7623-538: The primary shall be held "on the Tuesday at least seven days immediately preceding the date on which any other state shall hold a similar election." The Iowa caucuses are not considered to be "a similar election" under New Hampshire's law because the former uses caucuses instead of primary elections. Should any other state move its primary too close to New Hampshire's, or before, the New Hampshire secretary of state
7722-431: The primary system, states have tried to increase their influence in the nomination process. One tactic has been to create geographic blocs to encourage candidates to spend time in a region. Vermont and Massachusetts attempted to stage a joint New England primary on the first Tuesday of March, but New Hampshire refused to participate so it could retain its traditional place as the first primary. The first regional primary
7821-402: The primary; where it does not, party rules prevail. Since the 1970s, states have held increasingly early primaries to maximize their leverage (see Front-loading and compression below). In reaction to these moves, both the Democratic and Republican National Committees imposed a timing tier system of scheduling rules, stripping states of delegates if they move their primaries early, such as
7920-514: The realization that Iowa and New Hampshire were not representative of the rest of the country. Following the 2004 election, then- Senate majority leader Harry Reid began making a case for Nevada as the perfect American microcosm . Since 2012, the Nevada caucuses have been the third race in the process after Iowa and New Hampshire. South Carolina is generally the "First in the South " primary. For
8019-463: The relative importance of their election results. Five states held primaries and two held caucuses and the day was eventually nicknamed Mini-Tuesday or Super Tuesday I by pundits. The traditional March Super Tuesday date, March 2, was christened Super Tuesday II, or just "Super Tuesday." The results of Mini-Tuesday had far-reaching implications for the Democratic primaries . The Republican primaries were uncontested as incumbent President George W. Bush
8118-432: The remaining candidates or uncommitted were 65.4%. After Super Tuesday Dukakis held 27.8% of the 1,638 delegates selected so far, Jackson held 24.2%, Gore held 21.2%, Gephardt held 8.7%, and the remaining candidates and uncommitted held 18.1%. One hundred and seventy four delegates were selected in the Republican primary before Super Tuesday. George H. W. Bush held 35.1% of these delegates, Bob Dole 34.5%, Kemp 20.1%, and
8217-583: The results of primaries and caucuses. The remaining 15% are unpledged superdelegates (consisting of sitting Democratic governors, sitting Democratic members of Congress [i.e., senators and representatives], former and current Democratic presidents and vice presidents, and a few leaders of Democratic National Committee-affiliated organizations, such as the Young Democrats of America ) who can vote for whomever they wish. Some superdelegates are former or current state or federal lobbyists. In 2016, following
8316-438: The same candidate. In a proportional vote , a state's delegation is allocated in proportion to the candidates' percent of the popular vote in a congressional district. In many of those states that have proportional vote primaries, a candidate must meet a certain threshold in the popular vote to be given delegates. Some states may use a binding walking subcaucus system, where voters may instead be choosing pledged delegates to
8415-543: The state and national convention. Since the 2012 Democratic primaries, the number of pledged delegates allocated to each of the 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., is based on two main factors: (1) the proportion of votes each state gave to the Democratic candidate in the last three presidential elections, and (2) the number of electoral votes each state has in the United States Electoral College . The U.S. Territories of American Samoa , Guam ,
8514-409: The states that traditionally hold their respective contests first, the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary usually attract the most media attention; however, critics, such as Mississippi secretary of state Eric Clark and Tennessee senator William Brock, point out that these states are not representative of the United States as a whole: they are more overwhelmingly white , rural, and wealthy than
8613-452: The statewide winner-take-all method (e.g., New York ), district- and state-level winner-take-all (e.g., California ), or proportional allocation (e.g., Massachusetts ). Changes in the rules before 2012 brought proportional representation to more states. The number of Republican pledged delegates allocated to each of the 50 U.S. states is 10 at-large delegates, plus three district delegates for each congressional district. Washington, D.C., and
8712-442: The support of Hispanic and northerners. Jackson won a plurality of the southern delegates with 286 followed by Gore's 259. Seventy percent of Dukakis' 193 delegates from the south came from Florida and Texas, the only southern states he won. Four hundred and fifty one delegates were selected in the Democratic primary before Super Tuesday. Dukakis held 14.2% of the delegates, Gephardt held 10.4%, Jackson held 6.2%, Gore held 3.8%, and
8811-681: The system over broadly a 90-day window. Where state legislatures set the primary or caucus date, sometimes the out-party in that state has endured penalties in the number of delegates it can send to the national convention. There is no provision for the role of political parties in the United States Constitution , since the Founding Fathers did not originally intend for American politics to be partisan. In Federalist Papers No. 9 and No. 10 , Alexander Hamilton and James Madison , respectively, wrote specifically about
8910-487: The top of the calendar, but this proposal never gained approval, so those two states remain as the first two contests. New Hampshire also fought back by obliging candidates who wanted to campaign in the state to pledge to uphold that primary as the first one. States vie for earlier primaries to claim greater influence in the nomination process, as the early primaries can act as a signal to the nation, showing which candidates are popular and giving those who perform well early on
9009-433: The vice-presidential nomination, Cabinet post or other job, increase support for the favorite son's region or policies, or just the publicity from being nominated at the convention. The technique was widely used in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Since nationwide campaigns by candidates and binding primary elections have replaced brokered conventions , the technique has fallen out of use, as party rule changes in
9108-399: The view of other delegations, and votes for this candidate in the initial ballot. The technique allows state leaders to negotiate with leading candidates in exchange for the delegation's support in subsequent ballots. Serious candidates usually, but not always, avoided campaigning in favorite sons' states. If a party's leader in a state, usually the governor, was unsure of whom to support, as
9207-520: Was a major proponent of moving that state's caucuses to January, arguing that Nevada would be the perfect American microcosm : its western location, significant minority population, and strong labor population would be more representative of the country as a whole than Iowa and New Hampshire. Both parties then enacted stricter timing rules for 2016: primaries and caucuses cannot start until February 1; and only Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada are entitled to February contests. Because they are
9306-953: Was able to increase his lead significantly, with wins in six states and won over half the delegates at stake. Santorum's three wins, and a near-win in Ohio, allowed him to carry on as a candidate for another month. Super Tuesday in the 2016 presidential election was held on March 1, 2016. This date was dubbed the SEC Primary, since many of the participating states were represented in the U.S. Southeastern Conference for college athletics (five southern states). The participating states included Alabama , Arkansas , Colorado , Georgia , Massachusetts , Minnesota (with caucuses), Oklahoma , Tennessee , Texas , Vermont , and Virginia . Additionally, Republican caucuses were held in Alaska , North Dakota , and Wyoming . The territory of American Samoa held
9405-474: Was likely to obtain enough delegates on that day to win the nomination at the 1984 Democratic National Convention , no matter who actually won the states contested. Gary Hart maintained that unpledged superdelegates that had previously announced support for Mondale would shift to his side if he swept the Super Tuesday III primary. Hart committed a faux pas , insulting New Jersey shortly before
9504-786: Was on March 12. Bob Dole swept Super Tuesday en route to his bid for the 1996 Republican presidential nomination . Clinton, the incumbent president, secured all the delegates in the 1996 Democratic primaries . In 2000, Super Tuesday was on March 7. Sixteen states held primaries on Super Tuesday, the largest presidential primary election day in U.S. history up to that point. Approximately 81% of Democratic delegates and 18% of Republican delegates needed to secure nomination were up for grabs. Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush cemented their nomination bids with Super Tuesday victories, and both went on to win their parties' presidential nominations. In 2004, several states moved their presidential contests up to February 3, 2004, in order to increase
9603-564: Was the Southern Super Tuesday of March 8, 1988, in which nine states united in the idea that a candidate would reflect regional interests. It failed as all but two of the eight major candidates won at least one primary on that day. Another trend is to stage earlier and earlier primaries, given impetus by Super Tuesday and the mid-1990s move (since repealed) of the California primary and its bloc of votes—the largest in
9702-553: Was the presumptive nominee. To increase importance of their votes, 24 states with over half the delegates to the national conventions moved to change their primary dates to February 5, 2008, creating the largest "Super Tuesday" to date. Newswriters and political pundits noted that it would dwarf the Super Tuesday primaries in previous cycles. Because of its political magnitude, some pundits have variously dubbed it "Giga Tuesday", "Mega Giga Tuesday", "Tsunami Tuesday" or even "Super Duper Tuesday". With only four states holding elections on
9801-541: Was won by Gary Johnson . The Green Party of the United States hosted two contests , a primary in Massachusetts and a caucus in Minnesota, both of which were won by Jill Stein . March 15, 2016, was dubbed Super Tuesday II, Mega Tuesday, or the Ides of March Primaries. Five states held both Democratic and Republican primaries: Illinois, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, and Missouri. Republican caucuses were also held in
#591408