By: Tia Humphries
As the fourth year of President Donald Trump's first term is getting closer to the end, the race for the Democratic nominee is heating up. After the heated debate on Feb. 25 and the South Carolina primary on Feb.28, Sanders is leading the polls as voters get closer to Super Tuesday.
What exactly is Super Tuesday?
Super Tuesday will be taking place on March 3, 2020. 14 states will hold primaries, and American Samoa will have its caucus to determine the democratic candidate for president.
The first Super Tuesday was held on March 8, 1988. 20 states, majority in the South, in an attempt to stress the importance of the South's role in selecting a nominee. The event initially proved unsuccessful; however, other states have joined since, with the largest being in 2008.
Why is Super Tuesday important?
One-third of the democratic delegates (1,345) are up for grabs. The goal for every candidate is to reach the majority of 1,990, which will ensure the candidate's victory. Meaning, Bernie Sanders could solidify his position as the nominee, or another contender could steal his thunder and take a new lead in the polls. The 2020 election has been competitive from the start with six continuing candidates. Former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Governor Mike Bloomberg, Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg trail Senator Bernie Sanders in the polls, but are all hoping Super Tuesday works in their favor.
The 2020 Super Tuesday will include California for the first time, meaning two of the most populated States-Texas with 228 delegates and California with 415- will be included in the mega-primary. Lawmakers moved up California's primary from June in hopes of voters making a more substantial impact.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Bernie Sanders are expected to be the front runners; however, this will be the first time Mayor Mike Bloomberg will be on the ballot.
Journalists and reporters around the nation are now tasked with the various angles to cover on Super Tuesday. I expect there to be heavy coverage in California and Texas since both states hold high power in determining the presidential nominee. These two states also deal with the focus of the nation's immigration issues and are home to a variety of minority groups. It will be interesting to see how journalists cover voting turn out, especially since Texas is usually a red state, and California is generally blue. Candidates like Mike Bloomberg and Pete Buttigieg also struggle to attract black voters. Mayor Bloomberg has shown growth in polls with the black vote; however, will it hold up in states like Alabama and North Carolina. Journalists should focus on how accessible voting locations are to determine if their struggle for black votes is because they can't relate to candidates or simply because they lack access to representation and voting. This includes interviewing community leaders, black churches, polling centers, and local members of a candidate’s campaign team.
Prior to this assignment I was unsure of what Super Tuesday was or its impact. Fortunately, I now know that Super Tuesday is a vital day during election season and an important factor in understanding the possible outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
