Soon after the polls closed on Super Tuesday the media narrative was clear: it was a triumph for Trump and a failure for Bernie Sanders.
But the share of the vote reveals a different picture.
Taking into account all the elections so far, Bernie Sanders has won 38 percent of his party and Donald Trump just 35 percent.
Of course, the nature of the Republican and Democratic Party contests are different but nonetheless it's hard to say Trump has touched the nerve of his party (and even the wider nation) and deny that Sanders has not done likewise.
Even within the Republican Party itself, Trump was no where as triumphant as Wednesday's headlines first suggested.
Real Clear Politics shows that Trump is far from winning a majority of his party with 35 percent support, Cruz on 29 percent, Rubio 22 percent, and Kasich 7 percent. So two-thirds of his own party, never mind the wider U.S., don’t want Trump.
And on Super Tuesday, Trump won only 28 seats more than Cruz.
|
SUPER TUESDAY DELEGATES |
Trump |
Cruz |
Rubio |
|
Alabama |
36 |
13 |
1 |
|
Alaska |
11 |
12 |
5 |
|
Arkansas* |
16 |
14 |
9 |
|
Georgia |
40 |
14 |
18 |
|
Massachusetts |
22 |
8 |
4 |
|
Minnesota |
8 |
13 |
17 |
|
Oklahoma |
12 |
14 |
11 |
|
Tennessee |
31 |
14 |
9 |
|
Texas |
38 |
99 |
4 |
|
Vermont |
6 |
0 |
0 |
|
Virginia |
17 |
8 |
|
| TOTAL |
237 |
209 |
78 |
*With just one seat to allocate in Arkansas (99% counted)
The current total gives Trump 319 delegates to 226 for Cruz and 110 for Rubio, showing it is all still to play for in the Republican race, especially at a convention where votes can be switched in the horse trading that could take place if there is no clear winner in the first round.
