What is Super Tuesday? Why one day of the US election matters so much - and what is different this year
Fifteen US states held primaries on 5 March - but this year's Super Tuesday was not so super.
Wednesday 6 March 2024 03:07, UK
Super Tuesday is the biggest day of voting in the US outside of the November election.聽
But what is it, what makes it super - and what will be different about this year?
What is Super Tuesday?
Super Tuesday is the day when the most US states choose who they think should be their candidates for president.
In 15 states plus the US territory of American Samoa, Democrats and Republicans say who they want to see on the ballot come November.
Super Tuesday - an unofficial name that has been used since at least 1976 - is also when the highest number of delegates will be awarded to candidates.
Although voters cast ballots for their preferred presidential candidates, it is the delegates to the national party conventions who ultimately select the presidential nominees for each major party.
That means candidates need to secure delegates, largely by winning in the primaries, to guarantee their path to the election.
More than a third of the total delegates available will be allotted on Super Tuesday.
In the Republican contest, 874 of 2,429 delegates were be up for grabs, while the Democrats awarded 1,420 delegates.
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What is different about this Super Tuesday?
Super Tuesday is normally the moment "when candidates are whittled down from a pack to just a few", US correspondent Mark Stone explains.
"This year, it's not so super."
That's because the race is already dominated by clear front-runners in each party.
President Joe Biden is the presumptive Democratic candidate, and it is highly unlikely that will change.
Donald Trump has emerged as the firm favourite for the Republican Party.
Which states voted?
Votes were held in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and the US territory of American Samoa.
Republicans voted in all the states, but not American Samoa, which will hold its Republican caucus on 8 March.
Democrats voted in all those places bar Alaska, where they will wait until 6 April to cast their ballot.