JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground
HTML
<form id="super_form">
<a href="#">Submit</a>
<span id="super_span"></span>
</form>
JavaScript
function updateVar() {
$('#super_span').text('works');
}
$('form').submit(function() {
updateVar();
return false;
});
$('a').click(function() {
$('form').submit();
return false;
});