Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016

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The 2016 Democratic primaries were the selection process by which the Democrats chose their candidates in the 2016 election for President and Vice President of the United States. Through a series of primaries and caucuses culminating in the Democratic National Convention, the party picked Appalachia Governor Whitney Mason from North Carolina, who selected Senator Andrew Brockmeier from Michigan as his running mate.

Contents

The race begins

In late 2013, Speaker of the House of Representatives Emmet Honeycutt formed an exploratory committee [1]. He was the first to do so out of either party, doing so 3 years before the election and 2 years before the Iowa Caucus. He was followed in 2014 by Governor Whitney Mason [2] and Tom Poitier [3]. Mason and Honeycutt were at this stage competing with each other for front runner status, with Mason garnering support from moderate Democrats and Honeycutt from liberal Democrats.

Honeycutt drops out

Honeycutt withdrew from the race at the start of 2015 [4]. That same year saw the entry of 3 more candidates: Governor Lilliam Vanleer [5], Senator Justin Casanova-Davis and Congressman Bryant Carter. Vanleer replaced Honeycutt as the leading liberal Democrat vying for the nomination, with Poiter, Casanova-Davis and Carter seen as second tier candidates.

Two horse race

Vanleer, Poitier and Carter withdrew from the race prior to the Iowa Caucus, making the primary a 2 way race between Mason and Casanova-Davis. Casanova-Davis was also considered a moderate, making the race one between 2 moderate democrats, to the annoyance of liberal Democrats [6]. Mason led in the polls nationally (38% to 20%) and had a slight fund raising advantage ($88,730,900 to $81,138,000) [7]. However, Casanova-Davis had exceeded the expectations of many observers and would remain a threat to the front runner unless Mason dealt a knockout blow to the Casanova-Davis campaign in the early primaries.

Iowa

Going into Iowa Mason led 46%-32% [8], but Casanova-Davis held a 45%-27% advantage in the subsequent New Hampshire Primary [9]. A small win or loss would spell disaster for the Mason camp, who still led in polls nationally. Despite having withdrawn, Poitier maintained the support of a significant minority of Democrats dissatisfied with the lack of a liberal candidate to choose from.

The results on the day were a win for Mason, who got 45% of the vote. Casanova-Davis received 40% [10], narrowing his defeat to a small enough margin that he was able to claim a tactical victory and move into New Hampshire, where a campaigning blitz by Mason had put him in the lead, with the momentum he needed.

New Hampshire

The Casanova-Davis camp achieved its first big victory in New Hampshire, where it won the state's primary with 43% of the vote. Mason received 33% [11].

South Carolina

Both candidates received 43% of the vote, with Mason receiving a slightly higher percentage [12].

Super Tuesday

This was do or die for Casanova-Davis. He needed a strong showing on Super Tuesday in order to stay in the race. It was also Mason's last chance to land that knockout punch that he would need to eliminate the risk of the race continuing on till the end of the primary season.

Mason won Super Tuesday convincingly, winning 14 out of 22 states and taking 3/4 of the delegates from Super Tuesday states [13]. Casanova-Davis, his campaign now out of steam, subsequently announced his withdrawal from the race for the White House and his retirement from politics, resigning his seat in the Senate.

This left Mason as the sole remaining candidate for the nomination and the de facto Democratic nominee for President.

Candidates

State-by-state results

2016 Democratic primaries and caucuses
Whitney Mason Justin Casanova-Davis
Total Delegates 1595 613
Iowa 45%
(30) 		40%
(27)
New Hampshire 33%
(17) 		44%
(13)
South Carolina 43%
(27) 		43%
(27)
Super Tuesday Alabama 63%
(60) 		35%
(0)
Arizona 47%
(0) 		51%
(67)
Arkansas 52%
(47) 		43%
(0)
California 52%
(441) 		46%
(0)
Colorado 45%
(34) 		49%
(37)
Connecticut 53%
(60) 		43%
(0)
Delaware 51%
(23) 		46%
(0)
Florida 58%
(210) 		40%
(0)
Georgia 70%
(103) 		26%
(0)
Idaho 51%
(23) 		46%
(0)
Michigan 35%
(0) 		62%
(156)
Missouri 47%
(0) 		51%
(88)
Nevada 31%
(0) 		66%
(33)
New Jersey 55%
(127) 		43%
(0)
New Mexico 51%
(38) 		46%
(0)
New York 59%
(281) 		37%
(0)
North Dakota 55%
(21) 		41%
(0)
Oklahoma 47%
(0) 		51%
(47)
Tennessee 47%
(0) 		51%
(85)
Utah 47%
(0) 		51%
(29)
West Virginia 58%
(39) 		37%
(0)
Wyoming 54%
(18) 		40%
(0)
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