Who’s Winning the Delegate Race?
Number of delegates each candidate has received in the 2016 Democratic and Republican presidential races
Hillary Clinton built a sizable early lead over rival Bernie Sanders by winning the backing of so-called superdelegates, the roughly 700 party leaders who are free to support any candidate and may change their minds at any time. Republicans are battling to accumulate the 1,237 delegates needed to win the nomination.
Democrats
Number of delegates (with superdelegates) awarded
| Delegates | |
| Superdelegates |
 |
Clinton |
Clinton
|
||||||
 |
Sanders |
Sanders
|
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Republicans
Number of delegates awarded
 |
Trump | |||
 |
Cruz | |||
 |
Kasich | |||
Democrats
Roughly 4,000 of the nearly 4,800 delegates to the Democratic National Convention are allocated proportionally based on the results of primaries and caucuses.
The proportional allocation can make it difficult for a candidate to overcome an early deficit. And without the support of superdelegates, a candidate would need to win nearly 60% of pledged delegates to secure the nomination.
| Delegates Won | |
| Available delegates |
| Won this day | |
| Total to date | |
| Available to date |
| Won this day | |
| Total to date | |
| Available to date |
Republicans
Delegate apportionment on the GOP side is more complicated. Most states have some form of proportional allocation, with a handful of states that are true winner-take-all.
The method of awarding delegates proportionally varies. Some states base it on the statewide vote, while others use a combination of state and congressional district results. And a number of states have winner-take-all triggers, awarding all its delegates to one candidate if he or she wins a majority of the vote.
| Delegates Won | |
| Available delegates |
| Won this day | |
| Total to date | |
| Available to date |
| Won this day | |
| Total to date | |
| Available to date |
| Won this day | |
| Total to date | |
| Available to date |
State-by-State Results
Few delegates are awarded in early-voting states, but they play an outsized role in shaping the race heading into March. Super Tuesday, March 1, has the largest delegate cache of any single day. Both parties will have awarded more than half their delegates by mid- to late-March.
History suggests that candidates typically clinch their party’s nomination some time between when 50% and 75% of delegates have been allocated. This year that window falls between mid-March and late April for both parties.
Rules governing Democratic primaries
Proportional: States award delegates proportionally for all candidates who reach at least 15% of the popular vote.
Rules governing Republican primaries
Proportional: All candidates can win delegates according to their share of the popular vote. Some states require a minimum vote percentage to qualify. Several states become winner-take-all if one candidate wins a majority of the vote.
Winner-take-all: In these states, candidates with the most votes win all delegates in the state.
Hybrid: In these states, some delegates are winner-take-all (e.g., by congressional district) or delegates are directly elected on the primary ballot
The Republican rules are noted in the table below.
Democrats
Republicans
Note: Chart excludes candidates who have dropped out. Republicans in Colorado, North Dakota and Wyoming are not holding presidential preference votes. Totals are estimates. In some states with multistep procedures (such as in many caucus states), an estimate of the number of delegates each candidate eventually could win has been calculated.
Source: Associated Press