A complete breakdown of how Super Tuesday delegates are awarded

Super Tuesday offers the opportunity for presidential candidates to leverage momentum from the early-nominating states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada into a more valuable currency: delegates.

For Republicans, about a quarter of the 2,472 convention delegates will be decided on this single night. On the Democratic side, more than 1,000 delegates are at stake as Hillary Clinton looks to build an insurmountable advantage over Bernie Sanders.

How does it all work? Warning: Math lies ahead.

In general, both parties award delegates similarly. In each state, one chunk of delegates will be divided among the candidates based on the popular vote, and another based on the results in individual congressional districts.

Some state Republican parties have established minimum thresholds a candidate needs either statewide or in a congressional district to be awarded delegates. Some set a trigger point at which one candidate wins them all.

Democrats are simpler. They don’t have minimum thresholds, though they also differ from Republicans by weighting congressional districts instead of awarding the same number to each.

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A breakdown of how Super Tuesday’s delegates will be awarded and what to look for as polls close:

Alabama

Polls close: 5 p.m. PST

Republicans

Delegates at stake: 50

How it works: Twenty-six delegates will be awarded proportionally among candidates receiving more than 20% of the statewide vote. Should one candidate win more than half the vote, he would claim all 26 delegates. Three more delegates will be awarded in each of the state’s seven congressional districts with the same criteria – typically two delegates for the winner and one for the second-place finisher.

2012 result: Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania won 35% of the vote, while ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich barely beat former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for second place.

Who has a 2016 advantage? There has been a dearth of reliable public polling. Donald Trump rolled out his first Senate endorsement here Sunday, appearing with Jeff Sessions of Alabama.

Democrats

Pledged delegates at stake: 53

2008 winner: Obama

Alaska caucuses (Republicans only)

Polls close: 9 p.m. PST

Delegates at stake: 28

How it works: Twenty-five delegates will be awarded proportionally to each candidate who receives at least 13% of the vote, based on the statewide preference poll results. The three other delegates are the elected state party leaders.

2012 result: Romney won a close three-way race with 33%, over Santorum at 29% and former Rep. Ron Paul at 24%.

2016 advantage: There has been no public polling and no candidates made the trek here. Trump already has the endorsement of former Gov. Sarah Palin.

Arkansas

Polls close: 5:30 p.m. PST

Republicans

Delegates at stake: 40

How it works: Any candidate receiving 15% of the vote will receive at least one at-large delegate. If any candidate wins 50% of the vote, he would receive all of the remaining at-large delegates. If no candidate reaches 50%, then the pool of at-large delegates is split proportionately among each candidate who surpassed 15% of the vote. In each of the state's four congressional districts, the winner receives two delegates and the runner-up one, unless the winner got more than half the vote, in which case he would win all three delegates. The three other delegates are the elected state party leaders.

2012 result: Romney won easily in the May 22 primary, at which point he had already become the presumptive nominee.

2016 advantage: There have been no public polls in the state. The daughter of former Gov. Mike Huckabee has signed on to Trump’s campaign as an advisor. The sitting governor, Asa Hutchinson, endorsed Rubio.

Democrats

Pledged delegates at stake: 32

2008 winner: Clinton

Colorado (Democrats only)

Polls close: 6 p.m. PST

Pledged delegates at stake: 66

2008 winner: Obama

Georgia

Polls close: 4 p.m. PST

Republicans

Delegates at stake: 76

How it works: Thirty-one delegates will be awarded proportionally to any candidate receiving more than a fifth of the statewide vote. But if any candidate wins more than half the vote, he gets all 31.

The winner in each of the state's 14 congressional districts will earn two delegates, and the second-place finisher will win one, unless one candidate wins more than 50% in a district.

The remaining three delegates are the elected state party leaders – the chairman, national committeeman and national committeewoman.

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2012 result: Gingrich won 47% of the vote in his home state for his second state victory in the cycle, along with South Carolina. Eventual nominee Romney placed second with 26% of the vote, finishing ahead of Santorum, who was at nearly 20%.

2016 advantage: Trump. No public poll has showed another candidate leading here this year. An NBC News/Marist poll showed him at 30%, with Rubio and Cruz tied at 23%.

Democrats

Pledged delegates at stake: 102

2008 winner: Clinton

Massachusetts

Polls close: 5 p.m. PST

Republicans

Delegates at stake: 42

How it works: Twelve delegates will be awarded proportionally to any candidate receiving more than 5% of the statewide vote. The same applies to each of the nine congressional districts, which each award three delegates. The other three delegates are the elected state party leaders.

2012 result: Favorite son Romney romped here on a night that helped cement his hold on the nomination.

2016 advantage: Trump appears to be the clear leader here based on public polls. Ohio Gov. John Kasich had initially hoped to put in a strong showing, given the amount of time he had spent campaigning in nearby New Hampshire.

Democrats

Pledged delegates at stake: 91

2008 winner: Clinton

Minnesota caucuses

Polls close: 6 p.m. PST

Republicans

Delegates at stake: 38

How it works: Eleven at-large delegates will be awarded proportionally to any candidate receiving 10% of the statewide vote, and three more delegates from each of the eight congressional districts will be awarded on a similar basis. If any candidate receives more than 85% of the statewide vote, he would receive 35 delegates. The final three delegates are elected state party leaders.

2012 result: Santorum won the caucuses with 45% of the vote. Paul finished second with 27%, followed by Romney at 17%.

2016 advantage: Unclear. The last public poll conducted by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, in January, showed Rubio with a slight lead. Rubio will campaign here Tuesday and has endorsements from the state’s leading Republicans, former Gov. Tim Pawlenty and ex-Sen. Norm Coleman.

Democrats

Pledged delegates at stake: 77

2008 winner: Obama

Oklahoma

Polls close: 5 p.m. PST

Republicans

Delegates at stake: 43

How it works: Twenty-five delegates will be awarded proportionally to any candidate receiving more than 15% of the statewide vote, unless one candidate has more than 50%, in which case he wins all 25. In each of the state's five congressional districts, three delegates will be awarded proportionally to candidates with 15% of the vote, unless, again, one has more than 50% of the vote in that district. If three candidates get 15% of the vote in a congressional district, each receives one delegate. The three other delegates are the elected state party leaders.

2012 result: Santorum won with 34% of the vote; Romney edged Gingrich for second place by fewer than 2,000 votes.

2016 advantage: Oklahoma offers perhaps the best chance for Cruz outside of his home state of Texas. A Sooner poll, conducted in early February, had Trump leading Cruz by 5 points, and Rubio just behind.

Democrats

Pledged delegates at stake: 38

2008 winner: Clinton

Tennessee

Polls close: 5 p.m. PST

Republicans

Delegates at stake: 58

How it works: Twenty-eight delegates will be awarded proportionally to any candidate receiving more than 20% of the statewide vote. If one candidate has more than 66% of the vote, he wins all 28 at-large delegates. Three delegates will be awarded in each of the nine congressional districts as follows: a candidate wins all three delegates if he wins 66% of the vote; if the winner and runner-up both have 20% to 66% of the vote, the winner receives two delegates and the runner-up gets one. The three other delegates are the elected state party leaders.

2012 result: Santorum won with 37% of the vote, while Romney earned 28% and Gingrich 24%.

2016 advantage: Rubio scored an endorsement from two-term Gov. Bill Haslam last week, and Sen. Lamar Alexander this weekend. But an NBC News survey showed Trump leading with 40% and Cruz in second place at 19%.

Democrats

Pledged delegates at stake: 67

2008 winner: Clinton

Texas

Republicans

Polls close: 6 p.m. PST

Delegates at stake: 155

How it works: Forty-four delegates will be awarded proportionally to any candidate receiving more than 20% of the statewide vote. Should one candidate win more than half the vote, which is unlikely, he would claim all 44. Three other delegates will be awarded in each of the state’s 36 congressional districts with the same criteria – typically two delegates for the first-place finisher and one for the second-place finisher.

2012 result: Mitt Romney trounced in the Lone Star State, because the primary came in late May after he had essentially clinched the nomination.

2016 advantage: Texas is one of the night’s biggest question marks. Most polls have shown home-state Sen. Ted Cruz in the lead, but Donald Trump is within striking distance. Ironically, Rubio might be hoping for a Trump win here, because it would probably push Cruz out of the race and perhaps set up a one-on-one fight going forward.

Democrats

Pledged delegates at stake: 222

2008 winner: Clinton

Vermont

Polls close: 4 p.m. PST

Republicans

Delegates at stake: 16

How it works: Ten at-large delegates will be awarded proportionally to any candidate receiving more than 20% of the statewide vote, unless one candidate receives a majority. Three more congressional district delegates will be awarded on the same basis. The final three delegates are the elected state party leaders.

2012 result: Romney won nearly 40% of the vote as part of a clean sweep of New England. Paul edged Santorum for second.

2016 advantage: The only public poll conducted here showed Trump in the lead. Kasich campaigned here in hopes of a New Hampshire spillover effect.

Democrats

Pledged delegates at stake: 16

2008 winner: Obama

Virginia

Polls close: 4 p.m. PST

Republicans

Delegates at stake: 49

How it works: Thirteen at-large delegates and three delegates from each of the 11 congressional districts will be awarded to all candidates proportionally. A final three delegates are the elected state party leaders.

2012 result: Only two of the candidates qualified for the ballot that year: Romney and Paul. Romney won 59.5% to 40.5%.

2016 advantage: Northern Virginia is home to many members of what you might call the Washington establishment, who won’t be happy with the result here. Trump again has lead in public polling – a Monmouth survey showed him at 41%, followed by Rubio at 27% and Cruz at 14%.

Democrats

Pledged delegates at stake: 95

2008 winner: Obama

For more campaign coverage and delegate math, follow @mikememoli