Michael Bloomberg is the real unknown when it comes to Super Tuesday

The former New York mayor could prove to be a headache for Joe Biden, or just overestimated his appeal, writes Chris Stevenson

The billionaire ex-mayor Michael Bloomberg campaigning in Tennessee (Getty)

This is where it starts to get really serious. More than a dozen states are set to go to the polls on “Super Tuesday” including California and Texas. It was where more than a third of the delegates of the whole nomination process are up for grabs.

To put that in perspective, in the four states we have had during the contest so far – Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina – there were 155 delegates up for grabs. Bernie Sanders currently leads with 58. On “Super Tuesday” there are 1,357 delegates, with each candidate needing 1,991 in total to win the nomination. So nobody is able to declare victory on Tuesday, but it will have a significant impact on the race.

While Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden – following his big win in South Carolina – are looking best placed to make the nomination process a two-horse race, the real unknown element is Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg, a former New York mayor, has kept himself off the ballot until now, spending a chunk of his billionaire fortune on TV adverts and events to build up support. The gamble is whether he will make a splash on 3 March.