| Bureau Chief Zoe Daniel's weekly update from the campaign trail |
It's three up for Donald Trump and two up for Hillary Clinton as we careen towards Super Tuesday next week. Things may have looked chaotic so far, but dare I say, you ain't seen nothin' yet.
On that one day 11 states will vote for the Republicans and 11 will vote in the Democratic process to choose America's next president. The allocation of delegates will represent about half of those who will eventually choose the nominees.
Let's be clear. Next Tuesday will be a big moment in this race for the White House.
I'm off to Texas where there'll be BBQ and sunshine aplenty (we hope), but whoa horsey ... let's backtrack a little first before we start that ride.
Where are we at?
For the Republicans, hardliner Ted Cruz won Iowa but since then he and Cuban American Marco Rubio have been jostling for second place behind businessman Donald Trump who has now won New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada convincingly. John Kasich and Ben Carson are still bringing up the rear but they're miles behind the leaders.
That's all you really need to know.
For the Democrats, Hillary Clinton won Iowa by a sliver, lost badly to Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire, regrouped for a solid but not specky win in Nevada and now heads to South Carolina this weekend where she should win convincingly.
So, onto this week's winners and losers ...
VICTORS
Hillary Clinton
After a rocky couple of months, Hillary Clinton's victory in Nevada had her back as the inevitable nominee for the Democrats. Her rival Bernie Sanders polled well in the largely white states of Iowa and New Hampshire but there's been doubt over his campaign's appeal nationwide.
The Clinton strategy has depended on minority voters: African-Americans and Latinos, and as the campaign moved to Nevada that held true and looks set to consolidate as the campaign moves ahead.
Donald Trump
It's three wins on the trot for the brash businessman, who has cleaned up in New Hampshire, South Carolina and now, Nevada. Questions of how to stop Donald Trump and who can stop him have been replaced with theories of why the GOP hasn't stopped him.
In Nevada, he won essentially every demographic and is full of (even more) bluster heading into Super Tuesday.
This week, the best comes from Australia, with the ABC's very own Insiders editor Huw Parkinson, joining forces to create the ultimate Game of Thrones and Donald Trump mash-up. The parody racked up more than 2 million views and even found its way onto the front page of the New York Post.
VANQUISHED
Jeb Bush
This week saw Jeb Bush gracefully exit the presidential race, despite more than $100 million of donations and calling in reinforcements for one last ditch effort in South Carolina.
HBO's John Oliver eulogised Jeb Bush's campaign by describing the candidate as "the side of white rice nobody ordered". GQ has also collated some of Jeb's cringe-worthy best, including: his love for Apple products, a supporter falling asleep at a rally and the infamous, "please clap".
Jeb Bush never really got a run on in this campaign, fighting an appetite for something new that rejected the Bush name and has now defeated a political dynasty.
LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE SPIN
In a race that's been dominated by Donald Trump, the Republican hopefuls are looking for new ways to be upbeat about their chances. Sometimes, it's not easy but you can't blame these guys for trying.
After the South Carolina primary, the campaign's official release read, "Dr. Ben Carson stands as one of only five candidates remaining of the original 17 and received as many delegates in South Carolina as all other candidates but the winner". For the record, Donald Trump was the only candidate to win a delegate, which means Ben Carson scored a big fat zero. Ben Carson has limped his way to the final five in the running for the GOP nomination after briefly taking a national lead late last year. Since then it's been all downhill but that hasn't stopped the campaign from spinning things favourably.
And then there's this...
After yet another second place finish in Nevada, Marco Rubio still insists he's the GOP's best man for the job. But how long can a candidate go without a win? Apparently a while, at least according to Marco Rubio who told Fox News: "You don't win the nomination by how many states you win." Huh?
SO, WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS ON SUPER TUESDAY?
On March 1, the following 11 states will vote for their preferred Republican candidate: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia.
Those states will elect 595 delegates out of a total of 1,237 needed for the nomination. The Democrat side is much the same, but drop Alaska and add Colorado.
Got it? Across both parties, there are 1,007 delegates available from a total needed of 2,383.
Remember the way this works is that each vote elects county and then state delegates who then go on to the national conventions in July to vote for their preferred candidate for the presidency.
The objective (obviously) is to get the most votes, which gives you the most delegates and then the most support at the pointy end of the process at those conventions. Oh and by the way, the number of delegates per state depends on population so everyone wants to win the big ones. Texas, for example, has 155 Republican delegates available which sets up a battle royale between Texan Ted Cruz and frontrunner Donald Trump in the Lone Star state.
STATE OF THE RACE
Donald Trump is leading most of the Super Tuesday states for the Republicans. Ted Cruz is slightly ahead in the key state of Texas. Hillary Clinton is leading most states for the Democrats. Bernie Sanders will take his home state of Vermont in a landslide but it only represents 26 delegates so that's no biggie for Hillary.
BY THE NUMBERS
433 - The current delegate lead Hillary has over Bernie. That's despite getting thumped in New Hampshire and squeezing out close wins in Iowa and Nevada.
Hang on, I can hear you saying, I thought they were tied at 51 a piece?
Well, they are and they aren't and the big problem for Bernie Sanders is a funky little thing called super delegates.
For Democrats, the answer is essentially this: About 85 per cent of the delegate counts are bound by how people vote in the primaries. The remaining 15 per cent, the super delegates, are not bound by the primary results. Visit Vox for a visual explanation. While Hillary Clinton is currently dominating the super delegate count, as CNN explains, they can always change their minds.
The eventual nominee will need 2,383 delegates to win the nomination.
PRIME MINISTER BERNIE SANDERS?
The 74-year-old has garnered a lot of support from Australia and the New York Times tried to work out why.
Back in the US, Bernie Sanders is still trying to connect with the Democratic base heading into Super Tuesday. As it turns out Bernie Sanders and voters appear to be a perfect match. Gone are the days of no politics on a first date, GQ reports that the new website BernieSingles.com launched last week and had nearly 9,000 signups. Beth Hannah, a volunteer for BernieSingles says: "I live in a really, really small, conservative town in Montana. Finding someone who isn't a Trump supporter or who isn't a Republican is really difficult."
And finally ...
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Virginia McLaurin waited all her life to see an African-American in the White House.
Earlier this week, the 106-year-old finally got her chance to meet President Barack Obama and the First Lady as part of Black History Month.
Her infectious energy, dancing and squeals of delight made this clip the most adorable and darling video of the week, or even the century.
If the 106-year-old thought she'd seen it all, this election campaign is proving that American politics remains ever unpredictable.
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