Super Tuesday

A key date in the primaries calendar

First established in the 1998 campaign, Super Tuesday refers to a critical date in the campaign calendar - usually in early March - when a large number of states hold their primary elections.

Originally the states of Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama, and Georgia held their primaries on Super Tuesday

The hope was that by holding their votes on the same day they would increase the influence of the South in selecting presidential candidates and downplay the importance of the earlier New Hampshire primaries and Iowa Caucuses.

Since then a number of other states have chosen to hold their primaries on the same day.

In the 2000 campaign no less than 12 separate states will be holding their primaries on Super Tuesday, 7 March.

Included among them are keys states such as New York and California which command some of hightest numbers of delegates to the party conventions later in the year.

Another four states will also be holding Democratic party caucuses on Super Tuesday.