Super Tuesday brought about big changes in the Democratic primary race, with former Vice President Joe Biden winning 10 states, and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, from Vermont, winning four.
The contentious contests follow Biden receiving three major endorsements in the days leading up to Super Tuesday. Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar both suspended their own campaigns for president and endorsed Biden’s candidacy. Former Texas Representative Beto O’Rourke also signaled his support for the former vice president.
The former vice president dominated many states in the South, including Alabama, Texas and North Carolina. He also had strong performances in more northern, liberal states, such as Minnesota (Klobuchar’s home state) and Maine.
Sen. Sanders performed best in the western states, winning Colorado and Utah. He also pulled off strong victories in his home state of Vermont, and in the largest delegate prize of California.
The other candidates on Super Tuesday had lackluster performances. Despite extremely heavy advertising spending, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg only won the American Samoa territory. He suspended his campaign early Wednesday morning.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren failed to win any contests. Despite receiving a few delegates from several states, she only placed third in her home state, losing to Biden there. She also suspended her campaign following Super Tuesday. Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard made little impact on the heated primaries, aside from pulling a single delegate out of the American Samoa, where she was born.
Following Super Tuesday, a string of primaries on March 10 brought more good news for Biden, and less good news for Sanders. Biden won four of the six states, including the big prize of Michigan. Only Biden, Sanders and Gabbard remain in the race, and many pundits say Biden is virtually assured of the nomination.
Many students here at Frederick Community College have strong thoughts about the Super Tuesday results. Edgar Russell expressed his disdain for Biden’s victory, “I really was rooting for Bernie. I thought he might really stick it to the establishment this time. Pete and Amy dropping out and falling behind Biden didn’t help at all though. I’m not surprised, just disappointed. But who knows, maybe Biden really can defeat Trump in the general election,” said Russell.
Ben Tekin signaled his support for the current president. “I really don’t think Biden or Sanders have a chance at beating Trump. I sure hope they don’t, because that will just be another step towards socialism. Biden will do just as bad as Hillary [Clinton] did, maybe even worse,” said Tekin.
Likewise, Danny Morris also believes the current president will fare well in the general election. “Biden is just going to look out of touch with what the American people want. He might have won four years ago, but I think people are really sick of the establishment now. I think Pete had the best qualities to take on Trump, but his time has passed,” commented Morris.
