Super Tuesday Voters More Typical of Both Parties

The voters of Iowa and New Hampshire are on the extremes of both parties. Not until the March 1st Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses will each party’s broader base of voters start to engage.

Iowa and New Hampshire Democrats are mostly white liberals, with a powerful cohort of young voters. Republican voters in Iowa are more conservative and evangelical. Adding some unpredictability, in New Hampshire, independent voters are major influences in both parties.

Super Tuesday will provide Democrats the first events with substantial voters of color and political moderates. It means New Hampshire is both less evangelical and less conservative than Iowa and many states on Super Tuesday. It is a better state for Republican moderates than many on March 1st.

In 2012 on Super Tuesday, Mitt Romney won 200 delegates to 80 for Rick Santorum and 80 for Newt Gingrich. Hillary Clinton was slightly behind Barack Obama, an indication that the final result would be too close to call until after the June California primary.