For those political junkies like myself who have been following along with the race since August, Super Tuesday is like the birthday of an election year — not as great as Christmas, but still pretty great. 

Super Tuesday affords us the chance to do our civic duty and vote, as well as see on a larger scale which candidates are pulling away from the pack. It is an incredibly important day, and Texas is the gold medal of the states for both parties. 

If you combine the number of Democratic delegates won so far in all the states that have held a primary or a caucus, you get 148. Texas has 222 democratic delegates to award. The numbers are 141 won so far and 155 up for grabs in Texas on the Republican side. So yeah, everything is bigger in Texas, and elections are no different. 

On a national scale, doing well on Super Tuesday can really make the difference in an underperforming campaign — cough, cough Rubio — or it can significantly increase a meaningful lead in a successful one — looking at you, Trump. Because the delegates are awarded proportionally, even if a candidate places second, if they still manage to perform well enough they’re not out of the race. This is likely a large reason why some of the underperforming candidates have stuck around, and why it was such a big deal that Rubio won second place in Iowa. 

And speaking of Rubio, Super Tuesday will be a crucial moment for his campaign. He had an incredible showing during the GOP debate on Thursday, his strongest to date, which was a big win for him after a notable flub during the last GOP debate when then-candidate Chris Christie roasted him for repeating himself. Additionally, Trump was looking to replace his punching bag (aka Jeb Bush) with Rubio, but Rubio was aggressive and met Trump blow-for-blow, something that likely reached a lot of voters and rejuvenated his dying campaign. A successful Super Tuesday for Rubio may not result in an outright win, but it will look like several close finishes, scoring him the much-needed delegates. 

Cruz has to really step up his game, too, if he wants to continue staying on a level with Donald Trump, who is apparently impervious to losing any momentum. Cruz looks optimistic in Texas — he should, as its state senator — and in Arkansas, but those leads are not nearly as comfortable as he may like.

For Trump, a victory in Texas would only add steam to an already flaming campaign, and the candidate looks good to come away with the most delegates on Tuesday.

On the Democratic side of things, Sanders is starting to struggle, especially in the Southern states. Super Tuesday has been nicknamed the SEC primary because of its mainly southern voting body, and this population is not as far left as Sanders resonates with. Sanders seems to have a large support-base in college students, but the population of the majority of the Super Tuesday states is demographically pretty similar to that of South Carolina, a state that Hillary Clinton absolutely dominated in. Sanders will have notable support, but not anywhere near where he needs it to be to come away with the number of delegates he’d need to make Clinton sweat. 

Overall, Super Tuesday promises to be an exciting day. I predict Trump will claim the most delegates for the Republicans, with Cruz after him and Rubio finishing last — though maybe not by as much as some may think. And I see a landslide win for Clinton in the SEC primary. 

But most importantly, college students have to go out and vote. It doesn’t take long, you get a cool sticker and you’re contributing to your state’s and your country’s future. Remember — you’re electing the potential candidate you could be voting on in November, so if there’s someone you really like, get out and vote for them.

Sam King is a communication junior and news editor for The Battalion.