Super Tuesday and the Tumultuous Preliminary Elections for the U.S. Presidency

In the United States, the day known as Super Tuesday is considered the most exciting day of the primary elections, as a quarter of American voters determine the fate of the preliminary voting in the country’s most significant election. Candidates for the presidency from both the Republican and Democratic parties spend tense hours awaiting the votes of their compatriots. On Super Tuesday 2016, primary voting in 12 central, eastern, and northeastern states will take place from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time. Of the total 2,472 electoral college delegates, the fate of nearly a quarter of them, specifically the results of 595 delegates, will be determined on the first Tuesday in March. According to the Associated Press, the results of these votes are very important for each of the Republican candidates and especially for the party itself, as a significant portion of the party leadership and Republican voters, despite Donald Trump's lead, are not in favor of his victory due to his approach to principles that the party traditionally values and also because of his aggressive and reckless manner of speaking and acting. However, a significant portion has also rallied in support of him, illustrating a deep divide within the oldest political party in the United States. In the Democratic camp, the fate of 20 percent, or 865 delegates out of more than four thousand electoral college delegates, is at stake. Among the two rival candidates in the Democratic Party, it seems that Hillary Clinton is distancing herself further from her rival Bernie Sanders and is likely to claim the Democratic nomination to succeed Barack Obama next November. Currently, many American analysts, including commentators from NBC, liken Donald Trump's position to a train speeding towards the final destination of the Republican nomination without brakes. His closest rival is Senator Ted Cruz from Texas, who has less popularity among party leadership and media circles compared to Senator Marco Rubio from Florida. However, if the young Rubio does not achieve a significant victory in the primaries by mid-March, his continued competition in this tumultuous election will become very difficult. As long as Rubio does not win at least part of these preliminary elections, he will be criticized as an unsuccessful candidate who entered the race too late against Trump and spent the most valuable early days of the campaign repeatedly defending his policies, paving the way for Trump’s dominance. On the eve of Super Tuesday, Rubio has launched a series of sharp attacks against Trump and what he describes as the demagoguery of his billionaire rival, who inherited his wealth rather than earning it through initiative and hard work. As a result, if he fails to slow down Trump's lead, analysts believe it will lead to an even stronger Trump in public opinion. For Senator Ted Cruz from Texas, who is also a tough rival to Trump, winning in this state with 155 electoral college delegates, while being the largest reward, will not be enough. In Texas, electoral college votes are divided between the two candidates who receive the most votes, especially when other candidates receive less than 20 percent of the votes. Thus, the 155 electoral college votes will be split between the two leading candidates in Texas. According to the Associated Press, Republican party leadership hopes that the results of the voting on Super Tuesday will lead to the exit of at least two of the five candidates from the race. Their logic is that with fewer players in the competition, the campaign against Trump will be strengthened and Rubio's supporters will increase; however, the likelihood of such a scenario seems very low, as none of the candidates appear to be considering withdrawing from the race. Meanwhile, the biggest victory that can be imagined for Rubio is the Florida voting on March 8, where the frontrunner will take all the state's votes. In the Democratic camp, despite Hillary Clinton's rapid victories, Senator Bernie Sanders has emphasized that he will continue to compete until the party convention. He has the necessary funds and resources to advance his campaign. The presidential election campaigns in the United States this year are tumultuous and historic, as both the extreme left of the Democratic Party and the extreme right of the Republican Party are on the verge of a revolutionary movement, unless other factors intervene to block these overwhelming political waves.