In spite of the fact Bernie Sanders beat Hillary Clinton by more than 20 points in New Hampshire this week, he walked away with the same number of delegates. How did that happen?
IN DEPTH: US Elections 2016
1. The race for president is not decided based on which candidate wins the most votes
The contest is actualy decided by who gets the most delegates. In 2008, for instance, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, according to some counts, but ultimately lost the race to be her party's nominee. The delegate total during this year’s presidential elections is 4,763. It takes 2,382 of those to obtain the nomination. About 15 percent of the delegates up for grabs are “superdelegates” whose pick for president is not determined by the popular vote.
2. Superdelegates are free to choose whomever they want
This group of party elites includes former presidents, governors, members of Congress and retired lawmakers. Thus, endorsements from members of Congress are highly important due to their status as super delegates.
3. Superdelegates are unique to the Democratic Party
...and the product of efforts by the party establishment to guard against populist, insurgent candidates capturing the nomination. Hillary Clinton has a deep history with Democratic Party politics, and is of course the wife of a former president, which has earned her the support of the vast majority of party insiders and other superdelegates.
4. It's still early and superdelegates can change their minds
So far, taking into account superdelegates, Clinton leads the race by a wide margin: 394 to 42. However, in terms of delegates awarded based on democracy, Sanders leads 34-32 -- and 85 percent of delegates will be awarded that way. And if Sanders wins the popular vote, and a majority of the delegates awarded based on that vote, he will almost certainly be his party's nominee. No contest to date has been decided by superdelegates, who will face strong popular pressure to support the will of Democratic voters.
