Trump and Clinton Lead; Bush Quits
February 24, 2016
Several primaries and caucuses have occurred over the last few days in the Democratic and Republican races for the U.S. presidential nomination.
On February 20, in Nevada, the Democrats held caucuses to select delegates for the Democratic Convention. The convention will be held July 25-28 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In Nevada, Bernie Sanders exceeded expectations, but he was unable to win against Hillary Clinton. The final count was a vote of 52.6 percent and 20 delegates for Clinton and 47.3 percent and 15 delegates for Sanders. Sanders did better than had been expected with Hispanic American voters, gaining 53 percent of the tally against Clinton’s 45 percent. With African American voters, however, Clinton was strongly ahead. Nationally, 65 percent of African American voters favor Hillary Clinton and 22 percent favor Bernie Sanders. This will matter in the upcoming primary in South Carolina, a state with a large African American population.
A Democratic candidate needs 2,383 delegates to win the nomination. Currently, Clinton has 502 and Sanders 70. Clinton’s lead is built purely on superdelegates. Clinton and Sanders both have 51 delegates through voting, but Clinton has 451 superdelegates against Bernie Sanders’ 19. Superdelegates are people chosen by the Democratic Party who are automatically seated at the convention and may vote for whomever they choose.
Democrats and Republicans hold separate votes in Nevada and South Carolina. The Republicans held their South Carolina primary on February 20. Donald Trump won that primary with 32 percent of the vote. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio tied for second place, each with 22 percent of the vote. Jeb Bush ran a distant fourth, with 7.9 percent of the vote.
After his poor showing in South Carolina, Bush suspended his campaign. His fourth place finish in South Carolina had followed a fourth place finish in New Hampshire and a sixth place finish in Iowa. When he joined the race in 2015, he had been seen as a favorite for the nomination. He is from a political family, and both his father, George H.W., and brother, George W., have been U.S. presidents. In addition, Jeb Bush had far more campaign money than any other candidate. The New York Times reported that Bush had spent $130 million on his campaign, a huge sum and more than twice the amount spent by any other Republican candidate. But, Bush was an establishment candidate in a year in which voters were looking for an outsider.
In the Republican caucus in Nevada on February 23, Donald Trump won resoundingly, with 45.9 percent of the vote and 14 delegates. Marco Rubio won second place, with 23.9 percent of the vote and 7 delegates. Ted Cruz came in third, with 21.4 percent and 6 delegates. Candidates John Kasich and Ben Carson each got fewer than 5 percent of the votes.
The Republican candidate needs 1,231 delegates to clinch the nomination. Currently, Donald Trump has 81 and both Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have 17. The Republican Party has far fewer superdelegates, and they must vote as their state votes.