What a past few weeks in politics!
On the Democratic side, the two candidates left standing, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, continued to battle it out for the nomination. Clinton won three out of the four states in February (Iowa, Nevada, and South Carolina), managing to accumulate 91 delegates to Sanders’ 65. Clinton also dominated Super Tuesday with her win of seven of the eleven states up for grabs and a total gain of 513 delegates (Sanders got 343). However, Sanders fans should not fret: on Super Saturday, Sanders won both Kansas and Nebraska by fairly wide margins, and is far from out of the race yet. Clinton’s victory on Super Tuesday is undoubtedly due to her popularity in the South, and with only six more Southern states left, it is still possible for Sanders to make a comeback. At the present moment, Clinton has a total of 1,121 delegates (465 of them unpledged delegates, or super delegates) and Sanders has 481; there are 3,163 delegates still up for grabs, but only 2,383 are needed to win the nomination. Though the Democratic battle is not as contentious (or entertaining) as the Republican battle, it sure is worth watching the next few months!
For the Republicans, the race is less uncertain. With Trump’s win in the vast majority of states, an endorsement from the popular Chris Christie, and a lead of 382 delegates (Republicans only require 1,237 for the nomination), it looks like Trump will be the Republican nominee. However, with recent and unclear remarks about the KKK still fresh in everyone’s minds, many establishment Republicans are scheming ways to prevent him from winning the nomination. The only possible hope is what is known as a “brokered convention,” or a convention in which the delegate votes do not add up to the required 1,237 for any candidate. In other words, if Trump were to emerge with 1,000, Senator Ted Cruz with 900, and the remaining were taken by John Kasich, then there would be no clear winner, and thus the Republican National Convention would be “brokered.” In this case, the pledged delegates would ceremonially vote and, after the voting proved pointless, the delegates would then be allowed to speak to each other and, presumably, try to convince one another to change sides. If this were to happen, it would not be unlikely for John Kasich, an electable candidate who could do well against the Democratic nominee, to become the nominee. However, keep in mind that a brokered convention has not happened for the Republicans since 1948, and it still is not certain that it will be what occurs during this race. Nevertheless, it is a possibility, and will make the Republican side even more exciting to watch over the next few weeks.
On the Democratic side, the two candidates left standing, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, continued to battle it out for the nomination. Clinton won three out of the four states in February (Iowa, Nevada, and South Carolina), managing to accumulate 91 delegates to Sanders’ 65. Clinton also dominated Super Tuesday with her win of seven of the eleven states up for grabs and a total gain of 513 delegates (Sanders got 343). However, Sanders fans should not fret: on Super Saturday, Sanders won both Kansas and Nebraska by fairly wide margins, and is far from out of the race yet. Clinton’s victory on Super Tuesday is undoubtedly due to her popularity in the South, and with only six more Southern states left, it is still possible for Sanders to make a comeback. At the present moment, Clinton has a total of 1,121 delegates (465 of them unpledged delegates, or super delegates) and Sanders has 481; there are 3,163 delegates still up for grabs, but only 2,383 are needed to win the nomination. Though the Democratic battle is not as contentious (or entertaining) as the Republican battle, it sure is worth watching the next few months!
For the Republicans, the race is less uncertain. With Trump’s win in the vast majority of states, an endorsement from the popular Chris Christie, and a lead of 382 delegates (Republicans only require 1,237 for the nomination), it looks like Trump will be the Republican nominee. However, with recent and unclear remarks about the KKK still fresh in everyone’s minds, many establishment Republicans are scheming ways to prevent him from winning the nomination. The only possible hope is what is known as a “brokered convention,” or a convention in which the delegate votes do not add up to the required 1,237 for any candidate. In other words, if Trump were to emerge with 1,000, Senator Ted Cruz with 900, and the remaining were taken by John Kasich, then there would be no clear winner, and thus the Republican National Convention would be “brokered.” In this case, the pledged delegates would ceremonially vote and, after the voting proved pointless, the delegates would then be allowed to speak to each other and, presumably, try to convince one another to change sides. If this were to happen, it would not be unlikely for John Kasich, an electable candidate who could do well against the Democratic nominee, to become the nominee. However, keep in mind that a brokered convention has not happened for the Republicans since 1948, and it still is not certain that it will be what occurs during this race. Nevertheless, it is a possibility, and will make the Republican side even more exciting to watch over the next few weeks.
Written by: Jenna Welsh