SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. — With nearly one-third of delegates up for grabs this Super Tuesday, the results will likely play a significant role in the upcoming Democratic National Convention.
Thousands of voters cast their ballots during early voting in Shelby County. As more people vote Tuesday, the results could set the stage for what’s to come, and that could mean a fight for delegates.
Voters didn’t have to wait until Super Tuesday for campaign shakeups. Three candidates dropped out after Saturday’s primary in South Carolina.
That left many looming questions, especially for those who voted early, as the candidates who dropped out are still on Tennessee’s ballot.
“Well they can’t undo their votes,” University of Memphis law professor Steve Mulroy said. “They can’t take their votes back, and if there are enough votes for those candidates that they do get delegates, then some of them will go the convention in Milwaukee.”
That could be significant as the party works towards naming a nominee.
With a dwindling pool of candidates, it’s very likely several of them can reach the 15% threshold, which is the minimum to pick up any delegates.
“The more that’s true, the more it’s spread out, then the harder it’s going to be for any one candidate to get a majority of all delegates prior to the convention in Milwaukee,” Mulroy said.
That could lead to a potentially historic Democratic National Convention later this year.
“We haven’t had an actual contested convention in about 60 years,” Mulroy said. “Every other time by the time of the Democratic or Republican National Convention, everyone had pretty much known who the nominee was going to be.”
This means the stakes are especially high as people in 14 states cast their ballot on Super Tuesday.
