In the 2024 presidential election’s most significant day of primaries, Super Tuesday, Donald Trump, the leading Republican candidate, is anticipated to hold sway in the nomination contests taking place across the US.
The Republican Party held primaries in fifteen states, including the two most populous, California and Texas. These contests will assign a significant chunk of delegates, about 865 out of 2,429. The minimum delegates needed to secure the nomination is 1,215.
The Democratic Party also assigned about a third of their delegates across the country. However, current President Joe Biden isn’t faced with a substantial challenge for the party’s nomination.
The Republican race is mainly between Trump and his last standing contender, Nikki Haley. Edison Research provides the latest forecasts for these contests. Here’s a snapshot of what is going on in this tightly-contested battle:
In VIRGINIA, where 48 Republican delegates were at stake, Trump emerged victorious. Polls closed at 7 p.m. EST. Registered voters participate in either primary in this open-primary state, which could have enhanced Haley’s results. Her strength lies with independent voters. Trump, meanwhile, lead Haley by nearly half according to a FiveThirtyEight average. In 2020, Biden claimed victory in Virginia with a margin close to 10 percent.
In NORTH CAROLINA, Trump captured another victory, securing its 74 Republican delegates. State’s polls closed at 7:30 p.m. EST. North Carolina was under surveillance as it could be a key determinant in the general election. Trump clinched a slight victory over Biden in 2020. The state allows unaffiliated voters to participate in any primary, which could have boosted Haley.
In VERMONT, despite an endorsement from incumbent Republican governor Phil Scott, Haley was unable to triumph. Trump found his victory in the state’s 17 delegates. The polls closed at 7 p.m. EST. Haley could have benefited from Vermont’s relatively moderate Republican stance and its open primary policy.
In TEXAS, polls predict Trump as the clear frontrunner in the primary race. The state, which represents a treasure trove of 161 Republican delegates, concluded its voting at 8 p.m. EST.
Lastly, ALASKA, one of the consistently Republican bureaus since 1964, closes its polls at midnight EST. Trump won by a 10-point lead in its 2020 general election. Public polls for the Trump-Haley matchup weren’t available before the primary.
In conclusion, it was a day of considerable action, with Trump and Haley going head-to-head in multiple states. The lead story is clearly Trump’s expected dominance on Super Tuesday, profoundly influencing the 2024 presidential primary cycle.
Report by Helen Coster, edits by Colleen Jenkins, Deepa Babington, and Daniel Wallis.
