Five takeaways from Super Tuesday

Super Tuesday was filled with quite a few surprises for Democrats across the country

Mar 4, 2020

Left to right: Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. (Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty Images and Bauzen/GC Images)

Super Tuesday was filled with quite a few surprises for Democrats across the country. Despite long lines in some states, turnout seems to have increased significantly compared to 2016. As Democrats continue their push to defeat President Trump in November, here are five takeaways from Super Tuesday, 2020:

1) Joe-mentum is real

Former Vice President Joe Biden has had the best 72 hours of his political life. One might say he should pray at the altar of Congressman James Clyburn for the remainder of his career following a rousing endorsement that helped secure his victory in South Carolina.

Heading into Super Tuesday, Biden racked up crucial endorsements from Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Congressman Beto O’Rourke and Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Biden won a total of nine states, nabbing unlikely victories in both Minnesota and Massachusetts. Interestingly, Biden had little ground game in many of the Super Tuesday states he won – so apparently less was more for the VP…for now.

2) Bloomberg out, backs Biden

Mike Bloomberg spent roughly half a billion dollars on his presidential campaign. It didn’t matter. The former New York City mayor suspended his campaign less than 24 hours after a brutal showing on Super Tuesday.

After last night’s results came in, Bloomberg was forced to ask himself an important question: With Democratic voters heavily focused on defeating Donald Trump, was Bloomberg’s continued presence in the race hurting Democrats and boosting Trump?

In a statement explaining his decision to drop out, Bloomberg endorsed Joe Biden and said he would work to make him the next president.

3) Warren has work to do

It was a rough night for Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Not only did she not win her home state of Massachusetts, she came in third. To add more salt to her wounds, she lost her original home state of Oklahoma as well.

Her campaign is currently reassessing its path forward as some political pundits have called for her to drop out. But why should she? If this fight heads to a brokered convention in July, Warren may want to walk in with a few chips in her pocket.

Remember, delegate allocation is not a winner-take-all system. (this is not the electoral college) There may be some delegates that Warren can keep and negotiate if and when needed.

4) What’s the future hold for Amy and Pete?

Amy Klobuchar can go back to the Senate with an elevated profile and pending a Democratic win, position herself for a substantial cabinet position if a Democrat wins the White House. What is a little less clear and more complicated is the future for Mayor Pete.

Before he suspended his campaign, some in the press had crowned him (not Harris, Castro, or Booker) the future of the Democratic Party. Buttigieg, a millennial and more moderate Democrat cut from centrist cloth, appears to be out of step with his own generation.

Sure, the grannies in Iowa and New Hampshire love him, but if the present and future of the Democratic Party is comprised of people of color and young people, Buttigieg is currently a man without a base.

5) Black voters are the keepers of the Democratic Party…and the keepers of democracy as well

To quote my colleague Dr. Khalilah Brown-Dean quoting OutKast, “The South got something to say.” Hopefully the Democratic Party will look at the data emerging from South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, and even large parts of Texas and realize the needs and wants of Black voters must be at the forefront of any Democratic agenda.

Black voters are not “low information” voters as some Sanders supporters have suggested online. Black voters are keenly aware of what this nation is capable of and that is why they vote strategically and pragmatically.

Next Tuesday, Democrats in six states will go to the polls. Of those states, Michigan, Mississippi, and Missouri are states with diverse populations and the presence of Black voters will be critical.

If Warren sticks around to fight for the soul of the Democratic Party, she will need to convince voters she deserves to be in the conversation. Lastly, Washington state also goes to the polls in one week – will the burgeoning pandemic of the Coronavirus affects how voters view candidates and their leadership abilities?

We have a long way to go.

Christina M. Greer is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Fordham University and the Political Editor at theGrio.com.