Tennesseans will have their chance to have their voices be heard this Tuesday during the single largest delegate grab in the presidential race.
Super Tuesday could eliminate weaker candidates vying for the White House in both the Republican and Democratic Parties.
Twelve states and one U.S. territory will hold their primaries with more than 500 delegates up for grabs. Donald Trump, the billionaire real-estate mogul, has a sizeable lead in the delegate count compared to other Republican in the race.
Trump has already secured 82 delegates, and is expected to grab many more on Tuesday.
At distant second place, Senator Ted Cruz, Texas, has 17 delegates and Senator Marco Rubio, Florida, has 16.
Dr. Ben Carson, neurosurgeon, and John Kaisic, governor of Ohio, are trailing the furthest behind and have a combined 10 delegates.
The Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, are much closer. Clinton has 90 delegates to Sanders’ 65 votes, this is not including super delegates.
Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia will hold caucuses for both parties.
Alaska will caucus Republican candidates, American Somoa will caucus for democrats and Colorado will caucus for both parties, but only democratic delegates will be chosen.
Because so many southern states are involved in Super Tuesday, it has been given the name “SEC Primary†because it compares to the Southeastern Conference in college sports.
This day allows candidates to provide a clearer picture of what they plan to do if elected for president.
Super Tuesday can make or break a candidates spot in the running for president. Sanders trails Clinton in the Southern states so Tuesday could greatly impact his running.
Tennessee is one state he trying to gain more votes in. Clinton is expected to win most of the delegates on Tuesday, but if Sanders can pull through, it will be a long drawn-out race between to the two Democrats.
“Hillary. That’s who I want,†said Rexford Martin, a junior at the U of M. “She’s a woman. She’s modern and that’s what we need, the youth.â€
Because Clinton’s husband was president, Martin thinks she could do a really good job in office.
“She has used her own connections, that we may not even know about, to her advantage,†Hamid Farzam, a political science major said.
Farzam thinks Clinton is a strong and resilient candidate. Nearly 600 republican delegates are up for grabs on Super Tuesday.
To win the republican race, 1,237 total votes are needed. Over 800 democratic delegates are up for grabs. Either Sanders or Clinton will need a total of 2,383 total delegates to secure the presidential candidacy.
CNN released a poll on Monday that showed Trump with a 49 percent lead in the Republican party which is 30 percent ahead of Florida’s senator Marco Rubio.
In the Democratic lane, Clinton leads with 55 percent over Sanders 38 percent. Trump visited Tennessee this past Saturday, stopping in Millington to speak to potential voters.
“On Tuesday, you have a big day,†Trump said. “You get up, you go to the polls, and you vote! I promise you, that you are going to look back on this night and you are going to say this was a very important night.â€
Farzam said he thinks all the Republican candidates are focusing on too much on what Trump is doing rather than their own ambitions in their candidacy.
“They’re feeding off of Trump and what he’s doing. That’s just arousing the masses,†Farzam said. “It’s just a popularity contest.â€
Some students, like Farzam, have started pulling for Sanders because he wants to crack down on the big banks, doesn’t work with super pacs and has a comprehensive plan to make college tuition free.
“He’s not afraid to stick to his guns. He cares about the American people,†Farzam said. “Conviction, that’s what you have to lead with. A transparent president is what we need.â€
