After Mixed Results On Super Saturday, Candidates Turn To Maine And Puerto Rico

There were no cut and dry winners from yesterday’s Super Saturday elections.

Maine, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska and Kentucky all went to the polls yesterday in the presidential primary election. In the Democratic race, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won Kansas and Nebraska while former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won Louisiana. Clinton took home more delegates, however, winning 55* compared to Sanders’ 47.

Clinton now has 660 delegates to Sanders’ 435. A candidate needs a total of 2,383 delegates to win the Democratic nomination.

The Republican race was even more muddled. New York businessman Donald Trump won Kentucky and Louisiana while Texas Senator Ted Cruz won Kansas and Maine. Florida Senator Marco Rubio finished a distant third in all four states, failing to win a single delegate in either Louisiana or Maine. Ohio Governor John Kasich also struggled, despite somewhat high expectations in Maine (New England has been a stronghold for Kasich so far) and Kentucky (an Ohio border state).  Cruz won 60 delegates, Trump won 44 delegates, Rubio twelve delegates and Kasich won eight delegates across the four states.

Trump now leads the Republican race with 373 delegates, Cruz is second with 291, Rubio is third with 122 and Kasich is fourth with 33. A candidate needs a total of 1,237 delegates to win the Republican nomination.

The primary race continues in two elections today. Maine is holding its Democratic caucus; expect a strong showing from Sanders’ as he has already won New Hampshire and Vermont while coming close to winning Massachusetts. Maine is worth 30 delegates for the Democrats.

Much farther south, Puerto Rico is holding its Republican primary. The island and its large Hispanic and Latino population presents an interesting test for Trump. He points to his success with Hispanics in Nevada as evidence that he has won the population’s general favor despite his inflammatory rhetoric. Rubio has all the tools to do well in Puerto Rico (Hispanic and a native of nearby Florida), but he has struggled to put the pieces together so far. Cruz, also a Hispanic, has been quickly gaining momentum after Super Tuesday; it would not be a stretch to see him win Puerto Rico. Don’t expect a strong showing from Kasich. There are 23 delegates at stake for the Republicans in Puerto Rico.

*Delegate numbers in this article refer to pledged delegates. Unpledged “super delegates” are not included because they are uncommitted and can change at any point before the party convention.