Ledyard King

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – The Democratic presidential nomination race between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton started out as a tight affair.

They basically split Iowa. Sanders won New Hampshire. Clinton won Nevada. Then the race turned decisively in Clinton's favor with her crushing 47.5-point victory over Sanders in South Carolina on Saturday.

So will Florida’s March 15 primary play any major role in deciding who's on the ballot in November? Probably not.

"Mathematically, Sanders already has lost," said Clinton supporter Jon Ausman of Tallahassee, who represents Florida on the Democratic National Committee.

Here’s why many analysts back Ausman’s assertion:

• Polls: The former secretary of State is projected to win several of the largest states holding nomination contests on March 1 — Super Tuesday — including Georgia, Texas and Virginia, according to the RealClearPolitics. By the time Florida holds its primary, Clinton will have what many believe will be an insurmountable advantage.

• Money: As of Jan. 31, Clinton had $32.9 million — more than twice Sanders' $14.7 million. In addition, a pro-Clinton super PAC had about $45 million. The Vermont senator, who has built his campaign on money from small donors, also is being helped by super PACs, but they're less involved in his campaign and have far less money.

Money is especially important as the nomination calendar shifts from once-a-week contests to multiple primaries on a single day — and the candidates shift from town halls and handshaking to TV ads.

• Superdelegates: Most of the 712 Democratic superdelegates, who are free to make up their own minds on which candidate to support, have pledged allegiance to Clinton. Of the 473 who had chosen a candidate by Friday, 453 said they'll back Clinton and 20 will go with Sanders, according to The New York Times. With the South Carolina results settled, Clinton has 544 of the 2,382 delegates needed to win the nomination, while Sanders has 85.

The superdelegates supporting Clinton could change their minds if Sanders somehow reverses Clinton’s momentum ahead of the Democratic National Convention in July. But their pledges have helped build a sense of inevitability around the former first lady.

Under Democratic rules, each state's delegates are awarded proportionally to a candidate's share of the primary vote, provided the candidate wins at least 15%. So it’s likely the March 15 contest for Florida’s 246 delegates could take place with Clinton still not having wrapped up the nomination.

Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa, agreed with Ausmus that Clinton’s momentum will be almost unstoppable by the time Florida weighs in.

“It will already be Hillary,” she said. “But if not, Florida will be the absolute final word on it because she’s likely to win here.”

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A Quinnipiac University poll released Friday showed Clinton walloping Sanders 59%-33% among likely Democratic primary voters in Florida. The poll, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points, shows women backing Clinton 69%-24%.

“This has been a turbulent political year, but the Florida Democratic primary looks like a blow-out,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll. “Clinton would have to undergo a political meltdown of historic proportions to lose this contest,”

Sanders remains determined and optimistic.

“I think we’re on a path toward victory," he said Wednesday. "It’s a tough fight. If we win this, it will probably be the biggest upset in the history of America.”

Despite his allegiance to Clinton, Ausman said he hopes Sanders stays in the race beyond Florida.

“I think he’s generating a good message and drawing people out that might not be drawn out for Hillary Clinton just by herself,” said Ausman, who has contributed to both campaigns.