With the 2016 presidential election coming up in eight months, the campaign process is in full swing.

On Tuesday March 1st, 11 states, including Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia, held their state caucuses and primaries on a day called "Super Tuesday."

Super Tuesday is the biggest day of the 2016 primary season.

All states involved deal with the voting process differently. Some will host primaries, which are run by the states themselves, while others will host caucuses, which are typically put on by the state or county parties.

In the running for the Republicans are Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and John Kasich, and the last two Democrats standing in the race are Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

Prior to the polls, candidates were making their rounds across the country and hosting rallies supporting their campaigns.

One stop for Florida Senator, Marco Rubio, on this Tuesday was Andover, Minnesota. Rubio took the time to speak to supporters and his efforts paid off; Minnesota would be the only state to nominate Rubio as a candidate.

Although Cruz is starting to gain momentum behind Trump, the Texas Senator is still nearly 100 delegates behind his main competitor. Throughout this primary season, Trump has gained the pledges of 329 delegates while Cruz won 231 pledges. In order to win the nomination, Trump needs 1,237 pledges.

The Democratic candidates need 2,383 pledges to win the nomination for candidacy, and Clinton gained 1,083 while Sanders won only 431.

Delegate-heavy states like Texas, Massachusetts, Georgia and Tennessee, created victories and stronger nomination chances for both Clinton and Trump.

A delegate is a person who acts on behalf of an organization, or in this case, a political party. Some parties also have superdelegates, which include governors, members of Congress, former presidents and other party leaders.

Republican front-runner, Trump, won seven states while Cruz won four states, including his home state of Texas. Former Secretary of State, Clinton, won seven of the 11 states, and Sanders found victories in four.

For future plans, the candidates have their sights on the states they hope to win in other upcoming primaries.

Clinton is aiming for victories in other delegate-rich states like Michigan for their primary on March 8th, and on March 15th in Florida, Ohio, Illinois, North Carolina and Missouri.

In order to slow down Clinton’s momentum, Sanders will have to find victories in Ohio and Michigan as well.

With Rubio’s only winning state being Minnesota, in order to remain a strong competitor in the race, he will have to win both Ohio and Florida. By winning these states, he will gain 165 delegates in one night.

States across the country will continue to hold primaries and caucuses until the middle of June. The District of Columbia Democratic Party will host the final primary on June 14th.

On Friday, March 4th, Dr. Carson announced the suspension of his campaign. The exit of Dr. Carson helps level out the numbers between the Republican candidates and will also help Senator Cruz, who will most likely pick up Carson’s popularity with Evangelical Christians.

While Trump maintains his strong numbers with the Republican party, Clinton has started to inch her way back to the top after a tie with Sanders in Iowa.

With four months left of the primary season, each party will have to evaluate each candidate and prepare to make an important decision this July at their individual conventions.