What Went Down On Super Tuesday

In another of tonight’s down-ballot races, former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville look like they will head to a runoff in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Alabama. Democratic Sen. Doug Jones looks like he’s in a lot of danger to lose this seat, especially since it’s now virtually certain that he won’t face former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore again — Moore is getting just 8 percent tonight in his attempted comeback bid.

One bright spot for Sanders so far is the Colorado primary, a state he also won in 2016 when it used caucuses. This is the first time Colorado has used a presidential primary since 2000, but the state will still hold caucuses in 2020. Say what? Well, the caucus process is actually part of Colorado’s regular electoral system for other elected offices, such as U.S. senator all the way down to state representatives. Parties hold caucuses that elect delegates that eventually go all the way to state assemblies — that would be called a convention in nearly every other state — where candidates can qualify for the primary ballot with enough support. (Colorado’s primary for other offices is on June 30.)

I’ll make a conditional prediction: If Sanders loses the primary, I’ll write a long essay about the merits and demerits of his focus-on-your-base strategy. His strategy has grown on me a lot over the course of the campaign, actually. But we may be seeing its downside now.