The single-biggest day of voting ahead of November’s general election gets underway on March 3.
"Super Tuesday," first coined in the 1980s when Alabama, Georgia and Florida all held their primaries on the same day, has grown over the years to now 15 contests (14 states, plus American Samoa) in 2020.
On Super Tuesday, Alabama, American Samoa, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont will hold primaries or caucuses for both parties. Democrats Abroad technically begins voting on Super Tuesday but they have until March 10 to cast ballots.
It’s called Super Tuesday for a reason. By the end of the night, 1,344 pledged delegates, or more than one-third of pledged delegates (34%), will be allocated to the top candidates from those 15 contests. Cumulatively, with the early states, about 40% of the total pledged delegates will be awarded through Super Tuesday.
For the first time, California, the most delegate-rich state, will be joining the slate of Super Tuesday states, after the Golden State moved up its primary to the front-end of the calendar. Alongside California, Texas, another delegate-rich state, will be voting on Super Tuesday.
With so much at stake for the presidential contenders, a successful night could make or break a candidacy, giving voters across these states a critical say in the course of the rest of the election.