"Super Tuesday" for the US election 2020: First polling stations open - race between two candidates is emerging

The "Super Tuesday" may be a preliminary decision for the 2020 US election. A Democratic candidate is clearly ahead in the primaries.

• The primaries for the US presidential election are entering a hot phase.
• March 3rd is "Super Tuesday" - Democrats elect their candidate in 14 states, including California and Texas.
• Bernie Sanders is highly valued as a favorite for the role as a Trump challenger in the 2020 US presidential election. Michael Bloomberg is new to the race.

9:56 pm: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he wants to stay in the race for the democratic US presidential nominee even if he is defeated on Super Election Day "Super Tuesday" . "I have no intention of leaving," Bloomberg told journalists in Florida. The aim of his campaign is to win, he emphasized.

However, the media billionaire admitted that he did not expect a big victory in the vote in 14 states this Tuesday. "I have no expectations for today," he said. "But we will have a decent number of delegates."

Looking at his opponent Joe Biden , Bloomberg said, "Joe takes voices from me." Biden and Bloomberg are both considered moderate applicants. Former poll favorite Biden did surprisingly poorly in the first primaries, but won a clear victory in the vote in South Carolina on Saturday.

However, polls for Super Tuesday recently saw the left Senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders , clearly ahead. The 78-year-old is likely to win in the populous state of California, among others, where 415 delegates are awarded.

With "Super Tuesday", Bloomberg is only getting into the Democratic primary race. The 78-year-old, who skipped the first four primaries, has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the campaign and has moved up to third place in nationwide polls.

US President Trump doesn't care who his opponent will be in the presidential election

9:20 p.m .: Donald Trump said in Washington on Tuesday that he would take on any democratic candidate . "Whoever it is, I don't care." He is also "very happy" to stand up for TV debates with any possible democratic candidate.

Trump's own nomination as a Republican candidate is certain. He has no serious in-party competition. Republicans therefore do not hold primaries in several states. On “Super Tuesday”, however, they also vote in almost all affected countries.

"Super Tuesday" for the US election 2020: First polling stations open - race between two candidates is emerging

3:49 pm: The " Super Tuesday " in the USA has started. The first polling stations in the primaries in the race for the presidential candidacy of the US - Democrats opened on Tuesday at 6 a.m. local time (12 p.m. Central European Time) in the US state of Virginia. 14 of the 50 US states will vote on who will challenge Donald Trump on the democratic side. These include large states such as California, Texas and Virginia, which are important for the delegate votes.

Ex-Vice President Joe Biden got a huge boost shortly before "Super Tuesday" : Eliminated applicants Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Beto O'Rourke called on their supporters to support the 77-year-old's candidacy. However, the left senator Bernie Sanders has been at the top in nationwide surveys and continues to lead after the previous four primaries. Biden and Sanders are currently the most promising candidates.

Today's the day! If you're in a Super Tuesday state, head to https://t.co/Hy8C4n0lUk to confirm your polling location and make sure to get out and vote. pic.twitter.com/zwgsMznvwW

The most important competitor Bidens from the moderate warehouse is only now entering the race: the multi-billionaire and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (78) is on the “Super Tuesday” for the first time on the ballot papers.

Bloomberg had announced his candidature very late and had not put himself forward in the previous primaries. According to US media reports, he has spent hundreds of millions of dollars of his personal fortune on commercials to score points on Tuesday. His cutting is eagerly awaited. Like Biden, Bloomberg is part of the moderate Democratic camp.

The primaries run until June.

"Super Tuesday" for the 2020 US election: Buttigieg withdraws candidacy

Update of March 3, 2020, 9.33 a.m .: Pete Buttigieg surprisingly withdrew his presidential candidacy on Monday and has now promised support to former Vice President Joe Biden . "We need a policy that is about decency," said the politician on Monday evening in the United States during an appearance with Bidden in Dallas, Texas. And further: "This is what Joe Biden has practiced all his life." Buttigieg also called on all his supporters to stand up for Biden's candidacy . Biden thanked his former competitor for this tailwind. And another ex-candidate is now among Biden's sponsors: Democrat Amy Klobuchar also withdrew her candidacy for the US presidency and stood behind Biden .

US election: “Super Tuesday” favorite is Bernie Sanders - he is ahead in polls

The favorite for the highly anticipated “Super Tuesday” is still another: left-wing Senator Bernie Sanders . Sanders saw polls on the eminently important pre-election day as a top candidate in California , the most populous state in the United States. In addition, the 78-year-old has already won the primaries in Nevada and New Hampshire . In Iowa he was very close to Buttigieg, who has now retired.

On “Super Tuesday”, around a third of the nearly 4,000 delegate votes will be given today to nominate the presidential candidate. In addition to California, elections are held in Texas and twelve other states . But only after the end of the pre-election marathon at a party convention in July did the Democrats nominate their Trump challenger.

US election: Buttigieg announces its withdrawal shortly before "Super Tuesday"

Update of March 2, 2020, 6:50 am: Pete Buttigieg should withdraw his application for the presidential candidacy of the US Democrats shortly before " Super Tuesday ". This was reported by several US media, citing sources around the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. In the area code in South Carolina on Saturday (February 29), the 38-year-old had a disappointing 8.3 percent. He was only fourth. Former Vice President Joe Biden emerged as the winner .

After Buttigieg's withdrawal, six applicants would still be in the race for the Democratic presidential candidacy. In addition to Sanders (78), Biden (77) and Bloomberg (78), these would be Senator Amy Klobuchar (59), Senator Elizabeth Warren (70) and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (38).

Incidentally, in addition to the US primaries, elections are currently also taking place in Israel. In advance, serious allegations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party caused a stir.

US presidential election: Biden creates massive surprise, Trump mocks - and gets a return carriage

Update of March 1, 2020: Former Vice President Joe Biden has won the US Democratic primary in the state of South Carolina - and may have initiated a turnaround in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

After counting 99 percent of the votes on Sunday, the 77-year-old came to 48.4 percent, leaving Bernie Sanders' previous favorite far behind. The win gives Biden a tailwind before the important "Super Tuesday", in which elections are held in 14 states.

"We won - and we clearly won", Biden celebrated his victory. A few days ago, the media and experts had declared his candidacy dead. "You have put our campaign on track to defeat Donald Trump," Biden called to hundreds of cheering supporters in South Carolina's capital, Columbia. South Carolina is symbolically important: in the past decades, the Democrats have mostly been the candidate for the presidency who previously won in the southern state.

Sanders congratulated the election winner. "You can't win everything," he said at a campaign event in Virginia, where "Super Tuesday" will be voted on Tuesday. The 78-year-old focused his followers on this: "And now - now we're tackling 'Super Tuesday'".

After Biden's clear election victory, US President Donald Trump asked new competitor Michael Bloomberg to leave the race. Biden's victory in South Carolina "should be the end of the joke from an election campaign by" the "little" Bloomberg, Trump tweeted. Bloomberg's campaign team, on the other hand, dryly emphasized that Bloomberg had not put himself up for election in South Carolina.

I would find it hard to believe that failed presidential candidates Tom Steyer, or Mini Mike Bloombeg, would contribute to the Democrat Party, even against me, after the way they have been treated - laughed at & mocked. The real politicians ate them up and spit them out!

Preliminary report on “Super Tuesday”: Will Bernie Sanders become a Trump challenger in the 2020 US election?

Bernie Sanders was a favorite for the Democratic primary a few days before "Super Tuesday".

© AFP / JIM WATSON

First report from February 24, 2020:

Washington / Sacramento - The primaries for the presidential election have been running in the United States for a few weeks now - but it won't be really serious until March 3rd. Then the " Super Tuesday 2020 " is coming. A great day especially for the Democrats who are looking for a challenger for incumbent Donald Trump .

The Democrats are elected in 14 states . It is about a third of all delegates who will finally officially elect Trump's challenger in July. The Democrats are currently split between a left wing and a moderate wing and are arguing over who has the best chances against Trump in November.

US election 2020: Michael Bloomberg steps in - first preliminary decision expected on "Super Tuesday"

At the same time, the race of democratic applicants will be even more exciting on “Super Tuesday”. Multi-billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who entered the race late, will be on the ballot papers on Super Tuesday for the first time since the primaries began.

The primaries are held in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, California , Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas , Utah, Vermont and Virginia. American Samoa is also elected outside the US. In addition, the primaries begin with Democrats living abroad. For the past three decades, the Super Tuesday winner has always won the Democratic presidential nomination.

Presidential election: "Super Tuesday" is approaching - Sanders is the favorite in the pre-deciding round

The main favorite for the post as Trump challenger is currently Bernie Sanders . He had clearly won the third Democratic area code in Nevada. The state plays only a minor role in the number of delegates sent to the presidential candidate at the nomination party convention. However, Nevada's population structure, with a larger proportion of black Americans and Latinos, comes much closer to the structure of the entire United States than Iowa or New Hampshire.

However, Sanders is now increasingly attacked by its competitors. In a heated TV debate by the opposition Democrats, the 78-year-old senator was repeatedly the target of violent attacks on Tuesday evening. The main allegation was that the self-proclaimed " democratic socialist " frightened moderate voters - and therefore had no chance against incumbent Donald Trump in the November election.

“Super Tuesday” on March 2nd: Trouble about possible Russian interference in the presidential election

Former New York City Mayor Bloomberg immediately launched the first frontal attack against Sanders at the start of the debate, which was held a week before Super Tuesday. Russia's head of state Vladimir Putin is in favor of Trump's re-election and therefore wants to help Sanders run for candidacy - so that he is then defeated against Trump. "Bernie will lose to Donald Trump," said Bloomberg.

In fact, the latest Nevada area code was overshadowed by renewed suspicions that Russia wanted to influence the US election campaign. Sanders confirmed that he had been informed that Moscow was trying to support his application. Shortly before, however, the media had reported that US intelligence agencies assumed that Russia would help Trump to be re-elected . Russia, the US intelligence agency was convinced, interfered in the 2016 election campaign - in favor of Republican candidate Trump.

Primaries to the 2020 US election: Biden with his back to the wall - Warren, Klobuchar and Buttigieg under pressure

Of course, Sanders and Bloomberg are not alone in the hallway: ex-president Joe Biden wants to prevent Bloomberg from losing his rank after his failed preselection start. Barack Obama's former second man has suffered some painful defeats in the previous elections.

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg must prevent them from losing touch with the top group. One thing is clear: After Super Tuesday, the field of applicants, which is very large with a total of eight Democrats, should clear up.

fn / dpa / AFP

Rubric list image: © dpa / Richard W. Rodriguez