The presidential primary Mississippi voters will cast their choice for the presidential nominations Tuesday night, with 40 delegates up for grabs.
According to RealClear Politics, Trump is poised to win Mississippi on the Republican ticket, and Clinton is 44 points ahead of Sanders, readying a win on the Democratic side.
“On the Democratic side, the Mississippi primaries are close to meaningless: Mississippi will never cast its electoral college votes for a Democratic candidate,” said Nathan Barron, a junior political science and economics double major. “In fact, many of Clinton’s delegates are currently coming from Republican states.”
Barron said there has been relatively scarce campaign efforts have been made within the state.
“Minus a few visits by the Trump campaign and an establishment fundraiser dinner for Kasich, there has been little action in the Magnolia state,” he said, “Someone is going to walk away from Mississippi with a win, but it won’t be anything to hang a hat on.”
Tamia Watts, USM Chapter president of the NAACP chapter, said the NAACP will not give a primary endorsement.
“Since this is a primary, the NAACP has not endorsed any candidate for president yet,” Watts said. “But in the general election, an endorsement should be expected.”
Watts said the Mississippi primary is of particular importance. Watts said, “The primary in Mississippi – this year is very important,” she said. “In recent years, many candidates have not spent that much time in Mississippi, because the primary would be already decided. Not only will voters be choosing a president of their choice, but they will also be choosing a candidate for the House of Representatives.”
Each of the campaigners have been hosting events to spark interest in bids for their respective nominations.
According to his website, Sanders has phone banking events lined up to get the word out about his campaign by calling locals in the community.
According to the Sun Herald, Clinton has allied herself with local politicians, including
Meridian Mayor Percy Bland, Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny Dupree and Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber. She has also been planning events like phone banking to reach out to local residents.
Bill Clinton, who was spotted in Jackson recently, has come under fire as of late due to his visits to polling places in Boston.
Trump’s campaign has been seasoned with speeches, giving another in the Madison County School District March 7.
Ted Cruz slated a Monday appearance at Jones County Junior College, but Sen. Chris McDaniel announced late Sunday the event was cancelled.
“Unfortunately, I just received a call from the national campaign chairman. The event at JCJC has been cancelled. Ted Cruz will not be in Mississippi tomorrow, as he evidently does not feel well. This is difficult news to deliver, but we trust that God has a plan for the campaign and for Mississippi,” McDaniel said in a Facebook post.
Rubio’s and Kasich’s websites say they have no events planned in Mississippi. With Super Tuesday and Super Saturday passing, Donald Trump stands with the most delegates at 382, and Ted Cruz stands in second at 300 even. Marco Rubio trails with 128, followed by John Kasich with 35.
On the democratic side, Hillary Clinton leads with a combined delegate and superdelegate count of 1,129 delegates. Senator Bernie Sanders trails with 498. Superdelegates are unelected and free to support any candidate they prefer for president. This is exclusive to the Democratic party.
