CNN
—
Profitable particular person primaries and caucuses is only one step within the lengthy path to successful a celebration’s presidential nomination.
Each events maintain conventions in the summertime the place delegates technically choose the nominee. The method and guidelines are completely different for every get together, however the primaries are about successful sufficient delegates to safe the nomination.
There are completely different sorts of nominating contests and completely different sorts of delegates in a calendar that stretches from January to June, so maintaining monitor of the delegate math can get sophisticated.
Performing effectively in primaries and caucuses equals delegates, and the bigger objective is amassing the magic variety of delegates to safe a nomination earlier than delegate voting at the get together conference.
Whoever wins the GOP nomination must win at the very least 1,215 out of two,429 delegates awarded as a part of the first course of.
In years with out an incumbent, like Republicans are experiencing in 2024, the winner continuously doesn’t hit the magic quantity till Might and even June. In 2016, in his first of three White Home runs, Donald Trump hit the magic number on Might 26.
But when Trump’s lead in polls holds up throughout early primaries, he may wrap issues up a lot earlier.
Throughout a lot of the early primaries and caucuses, states award delegates proportionally. That signifies that every candidate will get a lot of delegates roughly equal to the share of the vote she or he has received. Delegates could be awarded based mostly on outcomes both statewide or in particular person congressional districts.
For instance, in 2016, Sen. Ted Cruz received the Iowa caucuses, however with lower than 30% of the vote, he solely bought eight delegates. Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio each bought seven delegates in Iowa that 12 months.
Generally, there’s a specific amount of assist a candidate should register as a way to qualify for delegates and lots of of those states have particular guidelines that enable a candidate who wins the lion’s share of the vote (typically 50%) to take all the state’s delegates.
Issues change after March 15. That’s when states have the choice to award all of their delegates to whoever will get probably the most votes within the state’s contest.
The introduction of winner-take-all guidelines makes it more durable for any remaining candidates to build up delegates towards the race chief.
When you’re certain to listen to rather a lot about Iowa and New Hampshire earlier than the caucuses and primaries get began — and people contests could be essential for giving candidates early momentum — these two states symbolize a small variety of delegates.
It’s not till Tremendous Tuesday on March 5, seven weeks after the primary Individuals decide a candidate in Iowa, {that a} consequentially massive variety of Republican delegates is at stake.
In 13 primaries and three caucuses, 874 delegates, 36% of the Republican complete, will probably be up for grabs, together with in California, the state with probably the most Republican delegates. However we nonetheless aren’t even midway by the primaries.
Beneath, discover what number of delegates are at stake in each contest.
Along with delegates who’re certain to a candidate based mostly on the outcomes of the nominating contests, there’s additionally a comparatively small variety of unbound delegates (142 complete) from Pennsylvania, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota and Guam. These delegates should not technically required to assist the candidate who received their state on the outset of the conference and are free to assist the candidate of their selection.
The delegate math will get much more sophisticated if no candidate reaches the magic quantity throughout the nominating contests, though this hasn’t occurred for many years. If there isn’t any clear winner throughout the primaries, delegates may interact in rounds of voting on the conference to pick out the get together’s presidential candidate.
Whereas President Joe Biden has not confronted a lot opposition within the Democratic major, he nonetheless must win at the very least 1,969 of three,936 pledged delegates awarded as a part of the first course of. If he can’t get a majority, he’d need assistance from about 740 computerized delegates, made up of get together leaders, elected officers and different Democratic bigwigs.
Observe: Democrats aren’t even technically beginning to depend delegates till their South Carolina major in early February. Republicans are voting within the South Carolina major in late February.
To see stay election outcomes, go to our 2024 election guide.