Biden surges in ‘Super Tuesday’ primaries

Former Vice President Joe Biden revitalized his campaign and became one step closer to solidifying his nomination as the official presidential candidate for the Democratic National Party following his definitive win in “Super Tuesday” early in March.

Super Tuesday, an event held in either February or March of every election year, is the first “big” primary day in which 1,357 delegates from 14 states are at stake.

Of these states, Biden won ten (Alabama, Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia), or 574 delegates as of press time.

His strongest opponent, Vermont Senator and self proclaimed “Democratic-Socialist” Bernie Sanders, won the remaining four states (Colorado, Utah, Vermont, and California), earning a total of 45 delegates, as of press time.

The last 62 delegates went to candidates who have since dropped out of the race, like Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg; the latter two subsequently endorsed Biden.

Biden’s success marked a significant turning point in an election his campaign had previously been struggling in.

Just weeks prior to Super Tuesday, Biden had consistently been placing near the bottom in several state primaries, including the Iowa Caucus in which he placed fourth, and in New Hampshire, where he placed fifth.

The sudden shift in momentum for Biden is likely due to his dominant showing in the south—a region who has typically voted for more “moderate” candidates—where he won all seven of the states taking part in Super Tuesday.

Sanders underperformance can also be largely attributed to this fact, as well as the lack of youth voter turnout, with less than 20% of  the total votes being cast by those under the age of 30, a demographic Sanders had previously done very well with.

“Sanders’ struggles reflect an inability to connect with older voters, while at the same time failing to generate large youth turnout” said political analyst Harry Enten.

As of press time, 217 delegates from “Super Tuesday”  have not been awarded because some counts are unfinished.