Super Tuesday: Key day in US presidential elections

Report by Rawad Taha, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

Super Tuesday marks a pivotal moment in the US presidential primaries, as many states hold their elections on this day.

Fifteen states are voting on Super Tuesday to select each party's presidential candidate, often indicating who has the upper hand in both the Democratic and Republican parties.

In 2016, during Super Tuesday, Hillary Clinton won seven states, while Bernie Sanders won four, but Clinton maintained her lead to become the Democratic nominee for the presidency that year. 

That same year, Trump won seven states, losing in four, paving the way to clinch the Republican nomination and, subsequently, the presidency.

This year, President Biden is the presumptive Democratic candidate, making the primary elections largely ceremonial with no significant challengers.

Attention now turns to the Republican Party and the battle between Donald Trump and Nikki Haley. 

Despite her losses in most primary elections, Haley refuses to withdraw from the race.

While winning states is crucial, what matters most is the number of delegates each candidate collects when winning. A candidate who secures 1,215 delegates out of the total of 2,429 becomes the official party candidate for the presidential election.

Ahead of Super Tuesday, Trump had amassed 273 delegates compared to Haley's 43. In these elections, 874 delegates are up for grabs among the candidates.