• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

3

Ex-Google engineer says Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai share the same trait—it's the lesson he swears by as a $7.2 billion AI CEO

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

3

Ex-Google engineer says Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai share the same trait—it's the lesson he swears by as a $7.2 billion AI CEO
Leadership

Why Hillary Clinton’s Win in the Northern Marianas Matters

By
Sam Frizell
Sam Frizell
and
TIME
TIME
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Sam Frizell
Sam Frizell
and
TIME
TIME
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 14, 2016, 4:19 PM ET
Photograph by Joe Raedle—Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

In presidential primaries, winning a state is often followed by raucous campaign rallies and glowing television interviews. But behind the flashy facade lies an unforgiving math that ends up determining who wins the day.

Hillary Clinton learned this lesson the hard way in 2008, as Barack Obama racked up delegates any way he could. But her victory in a tiny 189-person caucus in the Northern Mariana Islands Saturday shows she learned her lesson.

Clinton’s win in the tropical archipelago was as small as they get. She won the caucus by 37 votes, a total of 102 to Sanders’ 65—not much different from the turnout in a high school class president election at a rural school. The total turnout in the caucus was about as big as a single one of Iowa’s 1,681 caucus precincts.

But for those keeping score, Clinton netted as many delegates on Saturday as she won against Sanders seven weeks earlier in Iowa, where both candidates invested millions of dollars and manic effort to win. Her two-delegate advantage on the miniature Northern Mariana Islands also balances out Sanders’ win in a state like Oklahoma, where Sanders organized heavily, had staff and office space and personally campaigned, but in the end only netted three delegates against Clinton.

The micro-victory on the Northern Mariana Islands—7,800 miles away from their Brooklyn headquarters—is a good example of Team Clinton’s persistence. The win cost the Clinton campaign just a bit of clever long-distance organizing to win 4 of the islands’ 6 delegates, including a little more than 100 voter contacts and some digital targeting, according to a Clinton campaign official.

It’s part of Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook’s 50-state (plus territories) strategy that awards Clinton delegates wherever they can find them. Mook’s play has meant grabbing low-hanging fruit and squeezing delegates out of Southern states. It is a delegate count to the nomination, an accountant’s strategy against Sanders. To hear Team Clinton tell it, it’s working. “We are nearing the point where our delegate lead will effectively become insurmountable,” Mook said on a conference call with reporters last week.

 

 

Their diligence has helped widen their lead over Sanders, even as he takes home solid wins against Clinton, frustrating her aides with his persistence. He has won blowouts and upsets in states like New Hampshire and Minnesota and a surprise victory in Michigan that reinvigorated his campaign.

But partly due to the Democratic Party’s proportional assignment of delegates by percentage of the popular vote, losers can still earn delegates. Clinton continues to put away a firm delegate lead in her march to the Democratic Convention: She has had landslide victories, particularly in the South, that overwhelmingly shifted the delegate count in her favor. Her delegate count of 1,231 (including superdelegates) compared with Sanders’ 576 puts her more than halfway to the nomination.

This is the argument many on the Clinton campaign make: even if Sanders wins headlines, Clinton notches delegates. Mook told reporters in last week’s conference call that while Sanders has targeted victories in individual states, the Clinton campaign is aiming to organize everywhere, amassing solid delegates counts even in states where they lost.

In the Northern Mariana Islands, the victory was engineered remotely. Clinton made no visits to the Western Pacific Islands, which are near Guam, and had no staff there at caucus time. According to the Clinton campaign official, the campaign identified more than a hundred people there and sent out Get Out the Vote emails with information on the caucus.

The campaign also collected 50 digital commitments to caucus through targeted ads, or Facebook or other posts, and tracked down 13 people over the phone or personal email who had purchased a Northern Mariana Islander for Hillary shirt.

On Tuesday, polls show that Sanders could win a Rust Belt state like Ohio or Illinois. But Sanders may not make any headway in his delegate count against Clinton if she wins big in Florida in North Carolina. That’s what the her mathematicians are counting on.

This article was originally published on Time.com.

About the Authors
By Sam Frizell
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By TIME
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

Coworkers watching World Cup at a bar
NewslettersFortune Workplace Innovation
How smart employers are turning the World Cup into a workplace win
By Emma BurleighJune 29, 2026
2 hours ago
Ray Dalio attends the Fortune Global Forum Riyadh 2025 on October 27, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
SuccessRay Dalio
Ray Dalio was a ‘terrible student’ who got into investing by golf caddying for Wall Street traders: Now he hires talent who have experienced hardship
By Eleanor PringleJune 29, 2026
4 hours ago
As JPMorgan’s CEO race heats up, the case for a two-person succession contest is put to the test
C-SuiteNext to Lead
As JPMorgan’s CEO race heats up, the case for a two-person succession contest is put to the test
By Ruth UmohJune 29, 2026
4 hours ago
CEOs have forgotten the moderate playbook. The stakes for relearning it have never been higher
NewslettersCEO Daily
CEOs have forgotten the moderate playbook. The stakes for relearning it have never been higher
By Diane BradyJune 29, 2026
5 hours ago
Fed’s Barkin warns of high inflation, but sees signs of relief
EconomyFederal Reserve
Fed’s Barkin warns of high inflation, but sees signs of relief
By Catarina Saraiva and BloombergJune 28, 2026
17 hours ago
Sofia
CommentaryLeadership
This CEO became 3x more productive with AI. Then she read what her daughter wrote about it at Dartmouth
By Maria Colacurcio and Sofia FreiJune 28, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
4 days ago
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
Success
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
By Preston ForeJune 27, 2026
2 days ago
Ex-Google engineer says Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai share the same trait—it's the lesson he swears by as a $7.2 billion AI CEO
Success
Ex-Google engineer says Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai share the same trait—it's the lesson he swears by as a $7.2 billion AI CEO
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 28, 2026
1 day ago
Cristiano Ronaldo is soccer's first-ever billionaire: He went from begging for burgers outside McDonald's to landing a $400 million contract
Success
Cristiano Ronaldo is soccer's first-ever billionaire: He went from begging for burgers outside McDonald's to landing a $400 million contract
By Preston ForeJune 28, 2026
1 day ago
The retired college professor fighting a $313 trespassing ticket in Wisconsin thinks he's part of a national struggle
Environment
The retired college professor fighting a $313 trespassing ticket in Wisconsin thinks he's part of a national struggle
By Catherina GioinoJune 28, 2026
1 day ago
Iran is forcing the U.S. into an escalation trap as a 'shadow war' over the Strait of Hormuz heats up that could kill the tenuous ceasefire
Politics
Iran is forcing the U.S. into an escalation trap as a 'shadow war' over the Strait of Hormuz heats up that could kill the tenuous ceasefire
By Jason MaJune 28, 2026
21 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.