What happens to a presidential candidate’s delegates after they drop out? The answer might be confusing at first, and many people may be wondering now that Pete Buttigieg has dropped out of the presidential race.
Buttigieg will drop out of the presidential race on March 1, 2020, according to multiple reports. By early March, he had won 26 pledged delegate votes in total: 23 from the Iowa and New Hampshire caucuses, and three from the Nevada caucus. He received no pledged delegate votes in South Carolina.
It’s possible that Buttigieg will earn even more delegates after he’s dropped out. This is because he (and other presidential candidates, like Tom Steyer and Cory Booker) will still be on the Super Tuesday voting ballots. According to Balletopedia, the Super Tuesday ballots are determined off of a voting deadline in early January.
So where do those 26 or more delegates go? It depends on the state.
Here’s what you need to know:
Delegates Can Go a Number of Directions, After a Presidential Candidate Drops Out
In most states, when a candidate drops out, his or her delegates go to the national convention uncommitted to any candidate (that’s why it means they’re “pledged” after a caucus; they haven’t actually voted, and will only officially vote at the Democratic National Convention). From there, they can technically vote for anyone they choose, like a superdelegate.
On the other hand, some states like Virginia and Nevada require that delegates vote for their pledged candidate in the first round of the convention no matter what, The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
However, if a candidate drops out of the race and then goes on to endorse another active presidential candidate, then those delegates are required to vote for the candidate the person has endorsed. For example, if Buttigieg endorsed Joe Biden after he dropped out, his delegates would have to vote for Biden at the convention, assuming Biden was still in the race by then.
As for what a candidate is, at all: a delegate can be a volunteer, a party chair, or even an interested citizen. They’re supposed to represent the will of the people who live in their area.
The question of pledged delegates is an increasingly important one, given how many presidential candidates for the Democratic party have stayed in the race for such a long period of time. Obviously, only one candidate will clench the Democratic nomination and go on to take on Donald Trump for the presidency — but after Super Tuesday, it’s likely that more Democratic candidates will drop out, thus leaving their delegates un-pledged for the convention.
This leaves an element of the unknown leading up to the convention, rather than if a single candidate came into the convention with an overwhelming majority of delegates.
Going into Super Tuesday, here’s a breakdown of how many delegates each presidential candidate has earned, up to the South Carolina primary, per CNBC:
- Bernie Sanders: 45
- Joe Biden: 15
- Pete Buttigieg: 26
- Elizabeth Warren: 8
- Amy Klobuchar: 7
- Tulsi Gabbard: 0
- Michael Bloomberg*: 0
*Bloomberg’s name did not appear on the Iowa, Nevada, or New Hampshire ballots.
The South Carolina primary will award a total of 54 delegates, with Biden expected to receive the vast majority.
Given how spread out the delegates have been in the beginning primaries, many people have wondered what will happen if a candidate receives less than the requisite amount of delegates (1,991 are needed) to clinch the nomination, leading up to the Democratic National Convention.
Per Politico, there are three types of delegates: pledged leaders, elected officials, and at-large delegates. Then there are the superdelegates, who are comprised of a number of types of elected officials, including: every Democratic member of Congress, Democratic governors, all former Democratic presidents and vice presidents, and more.
Buttigieg’s decision to drop out of the race prior to Super Tuesday was directly related to his own delegates, several sources report.
Specifically, CNN reports that Buttigieg didn’t want to split the moderate vote, regarding delegate numbers, and in doing so, give Sanders an “insurmountable” delegate lead as a result. In other words, he might have decided to fall on his sword, so to speak, so that a more viable candidate like Biden (who is expected to sweep the South Carolina primary) could potentially pick up more pledged delegates.
from Heavy.com https://ift.tt/3clEfVR
What happens to a presidential candidate’s delegates after they drop out? The answer might be confusing at first, and many people may be wondering now that Pete Buttigieg has dropped out of the presidential race.
Buttigieg will drop out of the presidential race on March 1, 2020, according to multiple reports. By early March, he had won 26 pledged delegate votes in total: 23 from the Iowa and New Hampshire caucuses, and three from the Nevada caucus. He received no pledged delegate votes in South Carolina.
It’s possible that Buttigieg will earn even more delegates after he’s dropped out. This is because he (and other presidential candidates, like Tom Steyer and Cory Booker) will still be on the Super Tuesday voting ballots. According to Balletopedia, the Super Tuesday ballots are determined off of a voting deadline in early January.
So where do those 26 or more delegates go? It depends on the state.
Here’s what you need to know:
Delegates Can Go a Number of Directions, After a Presidential Candidate Drops Out
In most states, when a candidate drops out, his or her delegates go to the national convention uncommitted to any candidate (that’s why it means they’re “pledged” after a caucus; they haven’t actually voted, and will only officially vote at the Democratic National Convention). From there, they can technically vote for anyone they choose, like a superdelegate.
On the other hand, some states like Virginia and Nevada require that delegates vote for their pledged candidate in the first round of the convention no matter what, The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
However, if a candidate drops out of the race and then goes on to endorse another active presidential candidate, then those delegates are required to vote for the candidate the person has endorsed. For example, if Buttigieg endorsed Joe Biden after he dropped out, his delegates would have to vote for Biden at the convention, assuming Biden was still in the race by then.
As for what a candidate is, at all: a delegate can be a volunteer, a party chair, or even an interested citizen. They’re supposed to represent the will of the people who live in their area.
The question of pledged delegates is an increasingly important one, given how many presidential candidates for the Democratic party have stayed in the race for such a long period of time. Obviously, only one candidate will clench the Democratic nomination and go on to take on Donald Trump for the presidency — but after Super Tuesday, it’s likely that more Democratic candidates will drop out, thus leaving their delegates un-pledged for the convention.
This leaves an element of the unknown leading up to the convention, rather than if a single candidate came into the convention with an overwhelming majority of delegates.
Going into Super Tuesday, here’s a breakdown of how many delegates each presidential candidate has earned, up to the South Carolina primary, per CNBC:
- Bernie Sanders: 45
- Joe Biden: 15
- Pete Buttigieg: 26
- Elizabeth Warren: 8
- Amy Klobuchar: 7
- Tulsi Gabbard: 0
- Michael Bloomberg*: 0
*Bloomberg’s name did not appear on the Iowa, Nevada, or New Hampshire ballots.
The South Carolina primary will award a total of 54 delegates, with Biden expected to receive the vast majority.
Given how spread out the delegates have been in the beginning primaries, many people have wondered what will happen if a candidate receives less than the requisite amount of delegates (1,991 are needed) to clinch the nomination, leading up to the Democratic National Convention.
Per Politico, there are three types of delegates: pledged leaders, elected officials, and at-large delegates. Then there are the superdelegates, who are comprised of a number of types of elected officials, including: every Democratic member of Congress, Democratic governors, all former Democratic presidents and vice presidents, and more.
Buttigieg’s decision to drop out of the race prior to Super Tuesday was directly related to his own delegates, several sources report.
Specifically, CNN reports that Buttigieg didn’t want to split the moderate vote, regarding delegate numbers, and in doing so, give Sanders an “insurmountable” delegate lead as a result. In other words, he might have decided to fall on his sword, so to speak, so that a more viable candidate like Biden (who is expected to sweep the South Carolina primary) could potentially pick up more pledged delegates.
No comments:
Post a Comment