What’s happening: Super Tuesday — a decisive day in the presidential primary calendar when 16 states and territories hold primaries or caucuses — is over. Both Democrats and Republicans voted for the top of the ticket as well as a litany of down-ballot races.
- Keep in mind: Some states, like California, are slow to count. As a result, final vote counts may not be known for weeks.
Why it matters: Predictably, Trump and Biden secured victories in most of their primary contests. However, the data reveals two key insights about the state of the race: Trump has solidified his hold over the GOP nomination, and Biden is in trouble.
The GOP: Despite once picking up momentum, Nikki Haley dropped out of the race on Wednesday morning after winning only Vermont. Donald Trump had a banner night, locking up the GOP nomination and capping the most dominant presidential primary run ever for a non-incumbent candidate.
- Haley’s support: Despite some analysts making hay over Haley’s backing in certain primaries, many of her supporters on Super Tuesday were likely crossover Democrats; exit polls in Virginia even found that 92 percent of her voters approved of Joe Biden’s presidency.
The Democrats: Joe Biden won every presidential primary, though he lost the caucuses in American Samoa to a relatively unknown candidate named Jason Palmer. Meanwhile, in Minnesota — where a significant Muslim population is upset with the White House’s policy toward Israel — almost 20 percent of Democrats selected “uncommitted” rather than voting for Biden.