From left to right: Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul took part in many debates across the country.
Why was March 6th called Super Tuesday? On that day, voters in ten states took part in primary elections. Primaries are initial elections that let voters show which candidates they prefer. Super Tuesday is the day in a presidential election year when many states hold their primaries.
This year, the primaries are focusing on the race to become the Republican nominee. Whoever wins the nomination will run against President Barack Obama. Barack Obama is running for a second term and he has no challengers in the Democratic Party. He is the party’s nominee. The presidential election will be held on November 6 this year.
Starting in 2011, many Republican candidates announced that they wanted to run for President. In January 2012, states began to have primary elections or caucuses. After the first two primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire, only four main candidates remained—Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul. All four candidates have served in government. Mitt Romney served as governor of Massachusetts. Rick Santorum served as a senator from Pennsylvania. Newt Gingrich once represented Georgia in the U.S. Congress and was the Speaker of the House. Ron Paul is currently representing Texas in Congress.
After each primary, the candidate with the most votes gets either all or most of the delegate votes. States have different rules about how to split the delegate counts. So far, Mitt Romney has the most delegates. He is followed by Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul. On April 10, Rick Santorum announced that he was dropping out of the race.
The remaining candidates are racing to get 1,144 delegate votes. The candidate that reaches this number will become the nominee for the Republican Party. If no one wins enough votes in the primaries, the delegates will help choose the nominee at the Republican National Convention in August.
Image credit: ©REUTERS/Eric Thayer
Related Link
- The Election Process — Election of the President
Learn more about the process of electing a U.S. President at Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government.
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