Super Tuesday: Clinton looks to lock out rival Sanders

Hillary Clinton hopes Super Tuesday is the day her campaign makes a major pivot – from a contest between two Democratic presidential candidates to taking on her Republican rival.

Clinton goes into Super Tuesday, when more than 11 states hold presidential nominating contests, in a strong position. She already has six times the delegates of her challenger, Bernie Sanders.

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She is riding on the success of her win last Saturday in South Carolina. That’s when 87 percent of African American voters chose Clinton over Sanders to hand her a victory in that primary.

Clinton is hoping to replicate that success in South Carolina with a sweep of the southern states, where similar demographics are also voting on Super Tuesday. 

Clinton will be watching the results come in from Miami, Florida. She’s not the only major presidential candidate to do so.

Republicans Donald Trump and Marco Rubio will do the same. Why? Florida is part of an important group of states to hold contests on March 15.

Clinton hopes success on Super Tuesday will allow her campaign to make the transition towards taking on her not yet named Republican challenger.

Over the next two weeks, Clinton will be campaigning in Florida – a heavily populated state, with a diverse group of voters.

She hopes people of colour here will help her secure the substantial number of delegates available and vote for her to become the party’s nominee at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in July.

Still, Sanders is not giving up.

Given delegates are handed out through proportional representation, Sanders is also collecting delegates. He says he is determined to build on the surge of support he has received from grassroots efforts to raise funds and energise his campaign.

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Sanders’ message of overcoming income inequality has resonated with voters and he hopes will result in wins in states like Colorado, Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Minnesota. 

Clinton’s lead is hard to overcome. She has won three of the first four Democratic presidential nominating contests. She has a big lead in six of the southern states with high numbers of black voters.

Clinton is counting on that support on Super Tuesday to help lock out her challenger and lead her down the path towards becoming her party’s presumptive presidential nominee.