ST. PAUL, Minn. – On the eve of the Super Tuesday presidential primary in Minnesota, 73,000 absentee and mail ballots had been accepted, said Secretary of Steve Simon. The adcance ballots will be opened at 8 p.m. in county courthouses — the same time as tallying of in-person voting begins. Most Minnesota polling places open at 7 a.m. although some towns of fewer than 500 people wait until 10. All polls close at 8 p.m.
Democratic field
Democratic President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are favored in their respective primaries and will come closer to winning the delegates they need to win their party’s nominations. But there are choices. Congressman Dean Phillips of Minnesota, from MN-3, is on the ballot. So is self-help author Marianne Williamson, although she has withdrawn but not in time for her name to be removed from ballots. Phillips, who has been beaten badly by Biden in all previous primaries. The question: Will he do better in his home state
Republican field
Choices besides Trump among Republicans are former South Carolina Governor. Nikki Haley, as well as entrepreneur Vivek Ramswamy and two other Republicans who have quit the race – former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Haley’s Minnesota goal is to slow Trump’s march toward the nomination. Haley has visited nearly all Super Tuesday states recently, including a rally in Bloomington last week. She has picked up the endorsement of former Minnesota Senator Rudy Boschwitz, a Republican. Trump has been endorsed by U.S. House members Brad Finstad, MN-1; Tom Emmer, MN-6; Michelle Fischbach, MN-7; and Pete Stauber, MN-8 – all Republicans.
Super Tuesday. The March date when the greatest number of states hold elections to decide about one-third of the delegates to the political parties’ presidential nomination conventions. The results are an indicator of the likely eventual presidential nominees for the November general election.
Democrats
At stake in the Minnesota Super Tuesday primary are some of the state’s 92 delegates to the Democratic national nomination convention beginning August 19 in Chicago. The Minnesota selection process is complex. Roughly half of the delegates will be determined in the primary broken down by each of the state’s eight congressional district. A candidate must receive at least 15% of the vote in a district to be awarded those delegates. If no candidate makes the15% threshold, the district’s delegates go to the national convention as free agents. The party also has automatic delegate slots awarded to designated elected officials and party leaders. There also are at-large delegates decided at the state convention.
Republicans
At stake on Super Tuesday are 39 Minmesota delegates to the Republican national nomination convention beginning July 15 in Milwaukee. The primary winner will take most of the Minnesota delegates, who are split between at-large and congressional districts. Only three delegates are automatically filled by party leaders.
Legal Marijuana Now
Six Legal Marijuana Now candidates are on the Super Tuesday ballot. These include one who filed nomination papers under the name Vermin Supreme.
Minnesota’s open ballot
Minnesota’s presidential primary is a so-called “open primary.” Voters of any political affiliation may cross over and vote in another party’s primary — although they cannot vote in more than one party’s primary. Political scientists debate the value of open primaries because cross-overs, if organized, can defeat an opposing party’s strongest candidates. This, however, is hardly a common practice. Organizing such skullduggery usually will attract negative attention in the news media and backfire.
The whole kaboodle
Democrats: 11 options
> Joe Biden
> Eban Cambridge
> Gabriel Cornejo
> Frankie Lozado
> Jason Palmer
> Armando Perez-Serrato
> Dean Phillips
> Cenk Uygur
> Marianne Williamson
> Uncommitted
> Write-in
Republicans: Six options
> Chris Christie
> Ron DeSantis
> Nikki Haley
> Vivek Ramaswamy
> Donald Trump
> Write-in
Marijuana Now: Six options
> Edward Forchion
> Krystal Gabel
> Rudy Reyes
> Dennis Schuller
> Vermin Supreme
> Write-in
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