US ‘Super Tuesday’ Presidential Primaries Likely to Shift Election Balance

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Super Tuesday is viewed as one of the most decisive days in the presidential primaries, with the largest number of US states voting on a single day. Additionally, nearly one half of the total delegates needed to gain the Republican nomination are up for grabs, while about one third of the Democratic delegates are at stake.

The states holding both Democratic and Republican primaries on Tuesday will be Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia. Alaska will hold its Republican caucus and Democrats will caucus in the American Samoa territory.

CLINTON, TRUMP LEAD IN MOST ‘SUPER TUESDAY’ STATES

Republican front runner Donald Trump has already dominated three of the four Republican contests leading up to March 1. According to the most recent polls, Trump appears poised to win in the majority of Super Tuesday states, with Senator Ted Cruz showing a 9 point lead in his home state of Texas, and a slight edge over Trump in Arkansas. Senator Marco Rubio consistently trails in second or third place in the polls.

Trump has already secured 82 delegates from previous wins, with Cruz holding 17 from his victory in Iowa. The Republican candidate will need a total of 1,237 delegates to take the party’s nomination at the August convention.

The Democratic polls now show Hillary Clinton ahead in the majority of the southern states up for grabs on Tuesday, with a comfortable lead of more than 20 points in Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Virginia.

Clinton’s rival, Senator Bernie Sanders, is expected to turn out a better showing in the north, where he has a slight lead in some Massachusetts polls and an average 75 point spread over Clinton in his home state of Vermont.

The Democratic race appeared to shift in favor of Hillary Clinton following a major victory in the South Carolina primary. Clinton has now shored up 544 delegates to Sanders’ 85. The Democratic candidate will need 2,382 delegates to gain the party’s nomination.

WHEN TO WATCH

The polls in most of the eastern states will close at 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. EST, though some results will still be coming in early on Wednesday. Further west, Texas, Colorado, and Minnesota are scheduled to begin caucusing at 9 p.m. EST. Alaska Republicans and Wyoming voters will caucus at 12 a.m. EST.

The field of presidential contenders has been culled significantly since campaigning started in earnest during 2015, leaving two Democrats and five Republicans. Many analysts anticipate that of the remaining Republicans, Trump, Cruz, Rubio, John Kasich, and Ben Carson, another candidate or two will drop out of the Republican race following Super Tuesday.