B Matter – Todd

As candidates claim more delegates it is becoming more clear who the front runners for the Republican and Democratic nomination are.

In the democratic race Hilary Clinton is heavily favored to win the nomination.

Hilary Clinton won the South Carolina primary by relying on the minority vote.

Bernie Sanders gets a lot of his support from the youth vote.

On Super Tuesday, Hilary Clinton won seven out of the eleven states that were up for grabs.

Hilary Clinton has a total of 1,052 delegates. Bernie Sanders has 427 delegates. A candidate needs a total of 2,383 delegates to win the democratic nomination.

Donald Trump won South Carolina for the Republican race.

On Super Tuesday, Donald Trump won the majority of the states, and solidified his spot in first place.

Donald Trump won seven out of the eleven states that voted. That left him with a total of 319 delegates. Ted Cruz came in second place winning three states, one of which included his home state, Texas. Marco Rubio only won Minnesota. John Kasich and Ben Carson did not win any states.

After Super Tuesday, Donald Trump has a total of 319 delegates. A candidate needs 1,237 delegates to win the nomination. Ted Cruz is in second with 226 delegates. Marco Rubio has 110, Kasich has 25, and Ben Carson has 8.

More Republicans came out to the polls to vote than Democrats on Super Tuesday.

In 2013, North Carolina passed a law that required a government issued id at the voting polls. This law aims to prevent non US citizens from voting. The new law hurts Democratic party because a lot of low income individuals do not have any form of government ID, and those individuals would typically vote democratically.

After Super Tuesday 6 out of 10 Republicans feel like they were betrayed by the Republican party.

B Matter – Brandon Liu

DEM15

Hillary Clinton is a strong candidate among minority and female voters. In South Carolina, the black voters that Obama won in 2008, voted Hillary over Sanders 6 to 1. The results from Super Tuesday confirmed Hillary’s popularity among black voters in southern states.

Self-described democratic socialist, Bernie Sanders continued to remind voters that the race is determined by delegates.

After Super Tuesday, Bernie Sanders who is popular among youths made a greater effort to appeal to black voters, starting in Michigan.

Voter turnout for both parties during the primaries was record setting. The Democratic party received 250,000 votes, significantly less than the Republican party which received 285,000 votes.

GOP15

Trump led the Super Tuesday primaries with more delegate counts than Cruz and Rubio combined.

The GOP faces internal conflict after Thursday, when previous Republican presidential nominees Mitt Romney attacked Trump, receiving endorsement from previous GOP presidential nominee John McCain, and support from many others.

Exit polls in Virginia during Tuesday’s primary showed Republicans voted satisfied with their candidate while Democrats voted out of dissatisfaction towards the opposing candidate.

VOTERS15

North Carolina’s recently passed voter ID law makes voting for minorities and students to vote. Only two out of 35 million votes were referred in cases of voter fraud between 2000 and 2014, leading critiques to believe the law was implemented to strengthen the Republican vote.

Early voting takes place between March 3 and March 12. Voters can go to any open polling location during early voting but must go to their assigned precint on March 15.

More than 600 people showed up on the first day of early voting in Forsyth County.

B-Matter//Karlee Spirit

As the 2016 Presidential election continues, the front-runners, controversies, and voters opinions are quickly beginning to emerge and surface.

Previous primaries and caucuses have resulted in the clear distinction of Hillary Clinton leading the Democratic Party and Donald Trump in the lead for the Republican Party.

Even though the Republican Party is headed by Trump, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are still on the rise and trying to break the consistency of Trump’s victories. While despite Clinton’s strength with minority populations, Bernie Sanders is taking the votes of the youth population.

The South Carolina primaries held last week brought numerical statistics to support claims of leading candidates, following numerous polls and increasing amounts of voter turnouts.

Clinton collected 73 percent of the votes and left Sanders with 26 percent out of a near 367,000 ballots casts, according to the New York Times. Sanders decided to forgo competing in South Carolina to better his campaigning in the Midwest.

According to the New York Times, Trump received 32.5 percent of the Republican votes in South Carolina. Trump, Cruz, and Rubio all compiled for more than 750,000 votes.

In terms of voter turnout, the Republican Party had an increasingly more amount of casted ballots than the Democratic Party, according to the Post and Courier.

Beginning March 15th, the North Carolina primaries will begin. Registered voters in North Carolina are compiled of 17 percent of the 2.1 million actively registered Democrats. While 11 percent of the state’s 1.7 million are actively registered Republican voters, according to the Carolina Demography.

As of 2013, there has been new voter law provisions. Here’s what the law said: voters have to show a photo identification in order for them to cast their vote. Voters have the option of showing a North Carolina issued license, a current passport, a veteran’s ID card, a US military ID card, or a tribal ID card.

BMatter – Meg

DEM15

Bernie Sanders has won the vote of young people due to his focus on millennial interests like student debt and income inequality—though their achievability has often been questioned.

Hillary Clinton is popular amongst African-Americans due to her familiarity, her work with President Obama, and her involvement in legal aid. On Super Tuesday, she took home 7 states while Sanders only took 4.

GOP15

As of now, Trump is in the lead with Cruz and Rubio struggling to break the streak. However, the GOP is eager to stop his momentum due to his extremist views, citing him as uninformed and dangerous in the LA Times.

Trump has been popular amongst conservatives due to his stance on immigration that plays off current anger and his candid, though often controversial, speech. He emerged from Super Tuesday having won 7 of 11 states.

Rubio won 1 state and Cruz won 3 states. Their focus now mostly involves trying to slow down Trump’s lead.

On March 15, North Carolina will be joining Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, and Florida in the primaries.

VOTERS15

In 2013, North Carolina passed a law requiring a government issued ID to be shown at the polls, shortening the early voting period, ending pre-registration, and eliminating same-day registration.

There has been widespread confusion as to what counts as a valid ID at the polls, as well as valid excuses for not having an ID that still allows someone the chance to vote.

Examples of valid IDs include an NC driver’s license or permit, US passport, Veteran ID, Military ID, and certain tribal IDs. Reasonable excuses include lack of documentation, family obligations, transportation issues, work schedule, or disability.

Recently, the NAACP filed a court case to revoke this voter ID law due to it targeting minorities and limiting their ability to vote.

In 2008, voter turnout was 40.38%. In 2012, voter turn out had dropped to 34.65%.

B-Matter — Chris Caswell

DEM15

Democrats took to the polls on March 15 in five states, including North Carolina, to cast their votes for the Democratic presidential nominee.

Florida, Illinois, Missouri and Ohio also took to the polls Tuesday. Tuesday had the most primaries on a single day since “Super Tuesday” at the beginning of the month.

Hilary Clinton won 7 of 11 states over Bernie Sanders, particularly doing well with minorities. Sanders, on the other hand, has been carrying the youth vote. The feasibility of Sanders’ proposals remain a central issue in the race; Clinton has often asserted that they are simply not affordable or sustainable. Sanders, though, has often attacked Clinton for following President Obama too closely in her’s.

GOP15

Republicans took to the polls in North Carolina on Tuesday to select their presidential nominee. Other states, including Florida, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio and the Northern Mariana Islands also voted simultaneously.

Coming out of “Super Tuesday,” on March 1, where 11 states voted in the presidential primaries, one candidate stands out. Donald Trump won 7 of the 11 states, making his nomination likely.

Ted Cruz won 3 of those states, while Marco Rubio won 1 state. Cruz and Rubio have both focused their attacks on Trump in recent weeks as he maintains his momentum through “Super Tuesday.”

Both of them have criticized Trump for his “Trump University,” a business program started by Trump that is the subject of several lawsuits. Rubio has gone as far as calling Trump a con-man who took advantage of hard-working Americans.

VOTERS15

Democrats and Republicans in Winston-Salem took to the polls on Tuesday to vote inthe North Carolina Democratic and Republican primaries.

This was the first election since the new 2013 voter ID law took effect in North Carolina. This law forces voters to show a valid government ID in order to cast a ballot.

The NAACP filed a lawsuit against the state for the law, claiming that it discriminates against African-Americans, disproportionately limiting their voting rights.

B-Matter for Republican Race // Katie Dickens

New York businessman Donald Trump has emerged as a controversial figure and as front-runner for the Republican party nomination, with Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio trailing behind. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has emerged as the front-runner of the Democratic Party, surging ahead of democratic socialist Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont.
On Super Tuesday, Trump called himself a “unifier” after recording wins in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Virginia, Massachusetts, Vermont and Arkansas. Ted Cruz won his home state of Texas, as well as Oklahoma and Alaska. Marco Rubio won one state, coming out on top of the Minnesota caucus.
After Cruz won Texas, he begged remaining Republican candidates to drop out, and for voters to choose him or face a future with Trump.
Chris Christie announced his endorsement of Trump at a Texas news conference Friday, February 26th, and has since drawn immense criticism from his home state of New Jersey, where six newspapers have called for his resignation.
Mitt Romney spoke at the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics, issuing a long-awaited, opinionated speech about front-runner Donald Trump.
“If we Republicans choose Donald Trump as our nominee, the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished,” Romney said. “But wait, you say, wait wait wait? isn’t he a huge business success and doesn’t he know what he’s talking about? No he isn’t. And no he doesn’t.” He later added, “Here’s what I know. Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University.”
As of February 27th, 2016, there are 2,638,469 registered Democrats in North Carolina, and 1,981,448 registered Republicans.
March 1st polls had Clinton 8 points over Trump in the general election if both were to win their parties’ nominations.

B-Matter / Anna Conte

B Matter –Focus on SC Primary

As primaries, caucuses and polls continue, the fore front runners of the presidential election are beginning to show.

The primary in South Carolina resulted in Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as the current leading respective republican and democratic candidates.

Republican B-Matter

The South Carolina republican primaries occurred on February 20^th. Trump received 32.5% of the South Carolina republican votes, according to New York Times. He was followed by Marcio Rubio, who received 22.5% of the South Carolina republican votes and Ted Cruz, who received 22.3% of the votes. Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Ben Carson obtained the remainder of the votes.

As for Super Tuesday, Trump won seven of the twelve states that participated in Super Tuesday for the 2016 presidential election. Trump won Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia, a total of 460 delegates, according to the New York Times.

Cruz followed by winning Alaska, Oklahoma and Texas, achieving 369 delegates.

Rubio came in third, winning Minnesota, obtaining 163 delegates.

Democratic B-Matter

One week following the South Carolina republican primaries, on February 27^th, the South Carolina democratic primaries occurred. Clinton received 73.5% of the democratic vote, while Bernie Sanders received 26% of the democratic votes, according to the New York Times.

According to a Post and Courier article, voter turnout rate was greater for the Republican Party than it was for the Democratic Party in the South Carolina primaries.

Clinton received more support within Super Tuesday as well, winning Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia, a total of 767 delegates, according to the New York Times.

Sanders followed in second place by winning the support of Colorado, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Vermont as well as 553 delegates.

Voter ID B-Matter

The North Carolina primaries are to be held Tuesday, March 15^th.

This presidential election year this the first presidential election that the North Carolina Voter Identification Law will be in affect. This law was implemented in 2013, according to the National Conference of State website.

This law requires voters to show a form of photo identification in order for them to cast their vote. This regulation is currently being contested in the courts due to the possibility of affecting voter turnout in minority groups or student populations.

Super Tuesday Articles Reflection

Clinton trounces Sanders to win South Carolina Democratic Primary

This article did an adequate job explaining how Hillary Clinton was able to take South Carolina over Bernie Sanders. The lede was very good and set up the rest of the article very well. I thought that the diction was fairly biased at certain points but it is understandable considering the margin of victory Clinton won by. The sources in the article were varied in age and political expertise, which I thought was very useful in terms of understanding the general political environment in South Carolina. The article also did a good job explaining why South Carolina was such a Clinton Stronghold, giving some description of her husband’s political history in the state.

2016 Primary Results and Calendar

This piece was, for the most part, a graphic showing the distribution of votes and states for both the Republican and Democratic Candidates. The top of the graphic showed only the 2016 Super Tuesday results while the lower portion of the piece showed the outcomes of past Super Tuesdays. I thought this graphic did a great job showing voter trends and history. It is a very valuable piece of information for journalists because by looking at history we are more able to review the Primary results from a more informed stand point. For example, the Democratic Primary results in Georgia are more interesting considering that Obama won in 2008. This rise in popularity for Hillary Clinton suggests something that could be worth more investigation into the matter.

SC Primary Coverage // Merritt Enright

Both articles approached the South Carolina primary results through different methods. While the Trump article highlighted his win and future potential and used secondhand quotes from other candidates to build context, the Clinton article revolved around voter data to analyze to previous Democratic success compared to the present day.

Thus, Trump’s article is the more news/summary piece of the two. The lede establishes 3 of the 5 W’s and foreshadows what the SC results will mean for Trump’s shot at GOP nominee. The following paragraphs are summary-based and primarily consist of post-result quotes from the candidates. The quotes are accompanied by supporting facts as to why Trump’s rivals are falling behind, bolstering his success. Most of these quotes, although well attributed, are quote long and lack sufficient analytical context.

Rather than rely on quotes from public speeches, Clinton’s article was sourced by political science professionals and research data to support the lede. Quotes by Winthrop University professor greatly aided the article’s credibility, aside from their subtle bias. The tangibles voter stats, however, could have been hyperlinked/attributed clearly to indicate the source.

SC Primary Articles

This past weekend both Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump won the South Carolina primary elections.

In the first CNN article “Hillary Clinton crushes Bernie Sanders in South Carolina: 5 takeaways” the author does a good job of starting out by briefly explaining what happened in South Carolina. Next, the article is divided up into five key points which the author believes to be the most important takeaways from the South Carolina primary. I thought that structure made it easy for the reader to follow along and to be able to pull what is important from the article. The article includes statistics about the minorities that supported Clinton. The article also talks about the importance of Clinton to win South Carolina by so much to shut down Bernie Sanders’ momentum from New Hampshire.

In the Huffington Post article “Trump just won South Carolina. These charts show how huge that is”. The article uses a combination of charts, graphics, and analysis to show what happened in the primary. The article gives statistics that breaks down the overall victory percentage for Donald, what types of people voted for others, and which districts voted for which candidates. I thought that the article was very easy to follow. It also was able to easily avoid any bias by simply giving the statists, and showing them in graphics.