Super Tuesday, the most significant primary election date of this year’s election cycle, occurred over Villanova’s Spring Break on March 5, 2024. On this date, 15 of the country’s 50 states held their primary contests for both the Republican and Democratic parties. This date is particularly significant because the results of these elections result in the allocation of over a third of all delegates available to candidates, according to The New York Times. This year, the outcomes of these 15 states’ elections provided Joe Biden with an absolute Democratic victory and Donald Trump with overwhelming, yet not complete, success in the Republican contest.
Biden dominated all 15 Super Tuesday elections, collecting 1,402 delegates from the day’s contests, according to AP News. This significant addition of delegates lifted Biden closer to the 1,968 delegate count necessary to reach in order to capture the Democratic nomination. Since the 5th, Biden has won in Hawaii, Georgia, Mississippi, the Northern Mariana Islands, Washington, Florida and Delaware, allowing his delegate count to surpass the 1,969 threshold.
Biden’s success thus far has been absolute, as he has triumphed in every Democratic primary held as of March 17. In fact, of the 25 states and territories which have allocated their delegates, only four states have not granted all of their available delegates to Biden, AP News reported.
On the Republic side, Trump defeated Nikki Haley and became the presumptive nominee of the party. Following the results of Super Tuesday, Trump had 1,273 delegates total, while Haley had 94.
“They call it Super Tuesday for a reason,” Trump said at his victory speech. “This is a big one. And they tell me, the pundits and otherwise, that there’s never been one like this. There’s never been anything so conclusive. This was an amazing night, an amazing day. It’s been an incredible period of time in our country’s history. It’s been sad, in so many ways. But I think it’s going to be inspiring because we’re going to do something that, frankly, nobody’s been able to do for a long time.”
In response to Trump’s victory, Haley announced the suspension of her campaign the next morning in her home state of South Carolina.
“But the time has now come to suspend my campaign,” Haley said. “I said I wanted Americans to have their voices heard. I have done that. I have no regrets. And although I will no longer be a candidate, I will not stop using my voice for the things I believe in.”
Americans will have the opportunity to have their voices heard in the upcoming months leading to the election. The next primary occurred on March 19 in the states of Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas and Ohio.
