The 2016 presidential election is well underway with nearly half of the state primaries complete. Currently, businessman Donald Trump is the front-runner for the GOP. 

Texas senator Ted Cruz sits in second with Florida senator Marco Rubio lagging behind in third. Pulling up the rear for the Republican race is Ohio governor John Kasich.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont senator Bernie Sanders are vying for the Democratic nomination. According to Bloomberg, Clinton leads Sanders with 1,223 delegates, 461 of which are superdelegates. Sanders has a total of 574.

Four states held elections in February, however March weighs heavy in the hunt for delegates with 661 Republicans and 1062 Democrats up for grabs on March 1 alone.

The First and Finest

Super Bowl, superfoods, Superman… What do these all have in common? They’re the biggest and baddest of them all.

In the political world, the U.S. has “Super Tuesday.” Super Tuesday is the “unofficial name for a Tuesday during the presidential primary election when the largest number of states hold their nominating contests,” which fell on March 1 this year.

It can also be called the “SEC Primary” day, coined for the heavy concentration of southern states that hold elections that day, referencing the Southeastern Conference for collegiate sports.

Meet the players

March is truly full of madness when it comes to the presidential race, with elections falling on nine different days within the month.

During this election cycle, Super Tuesday includes Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia. Alaska also held its Republican caucus alongside Colorado’s and the American Samoa territory’s Democratic caucuses.

ResultsYuri-Grace Ohashi

Super Tuesday Synopsis

Trump walked away with a sweeping win, snagging seven states and a total of 249 delegates from Super Tuesday alone. Cruz came in second with a three-state win and 214 delegates. Rubio won Minnesota and 93 delegates total.

Kasich and Dr. Ben Carson failed to win any of the 11 states holding Republican elections, acquiring an underwhelming total of three delegates all from Virginia. He officially suspended his campaign on Friday, March 4, three days after Super Tuesday took place, and now endorses Trump.

Kasich, however, managed to received 21 delegates and is hanging on for the ride.

Clinton had a seven-to-four win over Sanders on Super Tuesday. A total of 517 delegates went to Clinton and 345 to Sanders.

Next-round Primaries

The four remaining presidential hopefuls in the Republican race moved on to the Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Idaho, Michigan and Mississippi primaries help from March 5-8. Both Clinton and Sanders continued on to the next round of primaries in four of the nine states above, both fending for the Democratic nomination.Yuri-Grace Ohashi

February Overview

February had one caucus and three primaries leading up to Super Tuesday. There were surprises in both of the first two states: Iowa’s neck-to-neck finish and New Hampshire’s “can’t stump the Trump” results made for a duo of interesting elections.Yuri-Grace Ohashi

Nevada’s caucuses and South Carolina’s primaries showed some variance in the voting patterns, although both parties’ front-runners managed to pull off wins in these states.Yuri-Grace Ohashi

Participation ribbons

Democratic candidate Martin O’Malley alongside Republican candidates Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul and Rick Santorum dropped out over the span of three days following the Iowa caucus. All four of these hopefuls received a discouraging total of zero delegates in the hawkeye state, signaling the end of their journey to the White House.

After hitting rock bottom in the granite state, Republican candidates Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina dropped out of the race on Feb. 10. Both candidates claimed that they would keep fighting as the bid for the nomination continued, but evident lack of support led to their decision to call it quits.

Republican Jeb Bush suspended his campaign after disappointing results in South Carolina. His fellow presidential hopeful Jim Gilmore dropped out Feb. 15, five days before the palmetto state primary.

As candidates for the presidential bid continue to drop out, it is only a matter of time before these individuals turn their support away from themselves and to one of their former competitors. Santorum endorsed Rubio, Christie switched allegiance to Trump and Fiorina backs Cruz.

For full coverage on previous primary results and a schedule overview of upcoming elections, click here. http://www.uspresidentialelectionnews.com/2016-presidential-primary-schedule-calendar/