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Strength in numbers: The pros and cons of Super Tuesday

On March 1, one of the biggest events in any primary election for the presidency will be in full swing. Super Tuesday is a massive battle royal of multiple states holding their primary elections on the same day; in this case, 12 states are scheduled to vote in who they think the respective parties’ frontrunners should be.
This could either make or break candidates in one fell swoop, including Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who, although are both trailing their competitors pretty closely, could still be ousted by the end of Tuesday; granted, Sanders still has enough momentum to stay in the race for the long haul.
So, to round out your feelings for primary elections, here are a few pros and cons about Super Tuesday:
Pros:

  1. It speeds up the process of the elections so that they don’t take years and years. The twelve states (and one territory) include Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia. Republicans in Alaska will hold caucuses, and Democrats in Colorado will hold their caucuses. Democrats in American Samoa are also holding their nominating contest.
  1. It whittles down the candidate base faster. This is especially important for the Republican field this year, which was overcrowded up until recently.
  1. There is no winner-take-all delegation for any one candidate.

Cons:

  1. States in Super Tuesday don’t get the meticulous dedication that Iowa gets during its caucus. Some candidates, including Ted Cruz, spend time in every county of Iowa, while states that fall on Super Tuesday don’t get a second glance.
  2. For some candidates, it could mean the end of their campaign, and candidates like Ben Carson and John Kasich could be pressured by their party to drop out.
  3. But, that doesn’t mean candidates will drop out. In this case, having no winner-take-all can be a con as well.

Primaries have gone to the wayside for young voters in the past, but disestablishmentarianism is strong amongst young voters this election, which could be a make or break for both outsiders in Sanders and Trump.  So, exercise your right to vote in the primary elections because it could change the course of history. Florida primaries are March 15.

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