By: Korey Alder, Photographer Editor
Posted March 9th, 2016
Things are getting tense in the presidential primary race as the Republican Party field continues to narrow. The main competition appears to be between Cruz and Trump, with each winning two of the four “super saturday” states. Trump is still in the lead with 384 delegates, with Cruz in second with 300. Rubio is a far third, currently holding 151, while Kasich has fallen well into last place with only 37 delegates.
You’re probably wondering why Rubio, and especially Kasich, are still holding on despite their low numbers. The fact is, they both believe they still have a chance at the nomination, but not in the way you might think. First off, Rubio is hoping to dominate in his home state of Florida on March 15th, and Kasich likewise is counting on a win in his home state of Ohio. Though the chances of either of these candidates getting the required 1,237 delegates out of the 1,585 remaining is slim, their goal is no doubt to force what is known as a “brokered convention” during the nomination process. This convention, which can only occur if none of the delegates reach the 1,237 delegate number, would allow delegates to support any candidate of their choice in a revote, effectively ignoring the state-by-state rules in place on them. In that case, any of the candidates could potentially be selected, regardless of how many votes were cast for them.
The Democrat situation has stayed roughly constant, with Clinton still leading by roughly twice the number of delegates as Sanders. It is notable, however, that the vast majority of Clinton’s lead is a direct result of “superdelegates,” which are not bound to public opinion and can vote for any candidate they choose. Also problematic for the Clinton campaign is possible upcoming legal action over the private email server which the former Secretary of State is accused of using for classified documents.
On both sides, the race is still far from over, and a lot can change before now and the nomination conventions in July.
