Donald Trump and Joe Biden reinforced, two surprise results… What to remember from “Super Tuesday”

The United States is heading towards a rematch of the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump and Joe Biden, unsurprisingly, emerged victorious in the primaries of the Republican and Democratic parties on Tuesday March 5. Voters from fifteen states and one territory were called to the polls during the traditional “Super Tuesday”, a crucial event in the campaign for nominations for the November 5 election.

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Series victories for Donald Trump and Joe Biden, surprise success for Nikki Haley in Vermont… Franceinfo lists the main lessons from this voting day.

Donald Trump moves closer to the Republican nomination

Donald Trump confirms his status as the big favorite in the Republican primaries. The billionaire enjoyed a series of victories during “Super Tuesday”, winning in 12 states: Alabama, Arkansas, California, North Carolina, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Results from the Utah and Alaska caucuses are still awaited.

If the details of the distribution of delegates at stake during this voting day have not yet been finalized, Donald Trump had already obtained 923, according to the AP agency’s count at 10 a.m. (Paris time). The ex-president is therefore approaching the threshold of 1,215 votes necessary to be officially designated candidate, during the national convention of the Republican Party in July. His team estimates he could reach this figure before the end of March.

Already preparing for a new duel against Joe Biden in November, Donald Trump congratulated himself Tuesday evening on having won a “important” victory during “Super Tuesday”. “It’s an amazing night, an incredible day.”he assured.

To win in the presidential election, however, the billionaire will have to rally beyond his electoral base, ensuring the support of moderate Republicans and independents. The task can be complex, notes CNN. In North Carolina, 81% of Nikki Haley’s voters, for example, declared that they would not vote for Donald Trump in November, according to an exit poll for the American channel. Opinion polls have also shown that the outgoing president could be weakened if he is convicted in one of the multiple trials awaiting him between now and November.

Nikki Haley creates a surprise in Vermont

His team did not dare to anticipate possible victories during “Super Tuesday”. However, Nikki Haley beat Donald Trump in Vermont, a small state on the east coast, according to AP agency projections. The result, however, looks close. If the former governor of South Carolina reaches at least 50% of the votes, she will obtain all of the 17 delegate votes at stake, explains the Washington Post. Without this, the delegates will be distributed proportionally between Donald Trump and his rival.

This is only Nikki Haley’s second victory since the start of the primaries. A few days before “Super Tuesday”, she had achieved initial success in the District of Columbia, where the capital Washington is located.

Questions about maintaining Donald Trump’s latest opponent

For several weeks, Nikki Haley has faced increasing pressure from her party to withdraw from the Republican primaries. Until now, Donald Trump’s rival had refused to throw in the towel, pledging to stay in the race at least until “Super Tuesday”. But even a success in Vermont will not allow her to make up the significant gap with her opponent: according to the AP agency’s count at 10 a.m. (Paris time), Wednesday, she can for the moment only count on 86 delegates.

Will Nikki Haley announce her withdrawal after these new disappointing results? We ignore it. At the end of the vote in Alaska, a western state which closed “Super Tuesday”, she had still not expressed herself on the follow-up she wishes to give to her campaign.

Joe Biden wins almost every Democratic vote

The 2024 Democratic primaries do not hold much suspense, as is tradition when an outgoing president is a candidate for his own succession. Joe Biden largely defeated his two main opponents, Marianne Williamson and Dean Phillips, in the 14 states where a vote was organized Tuesday evening, according to AP agency projections. He also won in Iowa, where voting began in January, but the results were announced on “Super Tuesday”.

In Minnesota, Joe Biden’s victory was, however, tarnished by a protest campaign against the war in the Gaza Strip. According to partial results, nearly 20% of participants cast a blank vote, to encourage the American president to put pressure on Israel in order to obtain a ceasefire in the Palestinian territory. A week earlier, more than 100,000 Democratic supporters had opted for the same gesture of protest during the Democratic primaries in Michigan, recalls Axios.

Joe Biden is also looking ahead to his expected duel with Donald Trump. The Democratic president assured Tuesday evening that his rival was “determined to destroy democracy” American, accusing him of being “focused on his own vengeance and revenge, not on the American people.” “Will we continue to move forward or will we allow Donald Trump to lead us toward the chaos, division, and obscurantism that have defined his tenure?”he said.

Outgoing president beaten by unknown person in American Samoa

In the presidential camp too, “Super Tuesday” held a surprise. According to AP agency projections, an illustrious unknown, Jason Palmer, beat Joe Biden during the American Samoa caucuses. He therefore won the six delegates who were at stake during the vote in this small Pacific territory.

Jason Palmer, 52, is an entrepreneur from Baltimore, Maryland, on the east coast of the United States. He had never set foot in the archipelago before “Super Tuesday”, reports the Washington Post. “I campaigned remotely, with meetings on Zoom”explains the candidate.

Joe Biden’s defeat in this territory will, however, have no impact on the rest of his campaign. If the 40,000 inhabitants of American Samoa can participate in the Democratic and Republican primaries, they will not be able to vote in the presidential election in November, due to the status of the archipelago.