Donald Trump consolidated his lead last night to compete for the White House again and then revive in November the electrifying electoral duel of four years ago against Joe Biden on a “Super Tuesday” in which millions of Americans voted in the Democratic and Republican primaries in 15 states and one territory.
“Super Tuesday” is the most important voting day of the long US election season, which began in January, and is traditionally decisive for candidates of both parties as the race narrows and they secure delegates to win the election. mid-year.
Voting took place throughout the country in different geographical areas and electorates: at the end of this edition the votes were counted in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, California, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia, as well as American Samoa, a small territory in the Pacific.
According to the closing projections of this edition, Trump won Virginia, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee and the exit polls gave him the winner in the rest of the states in dispute, although it was not clear by how much margin. The result is rarely seen in a candidate who challenges the opposition.
For his part, Biden won in Massachusetts, Tennessee, Maine and Oklahoma and won in other districts.
Some results wouldn’t arrive until early Wednesday morning.
This year no major surprises were expected either on the Democratic front, with President Biden practically running for re-election alone, or on the Republican front, with Trump prevailing in most states over his rival Nikki Haley, his former ambassador . before the United Nations.
Numbers are not enough to lower the hammer: no matter how much they win, Neither Biden nor Trump managed to get enough delegates on Super Tuesday, but it left them practically on the brink of nomination in the next election dates and served to definitively seal the candidacies of both candidates, who have different pressing needs. The former president’s team, for example, expects a victory at the latest “March 19”, after the votes of Georgia and Florida.
But Trump tried to bury his last contender for the Republican nomination once and for all and thus establish himself on “Super Tuesday” as the great champion of his party, so as to be able to concentrate on the final battle with Biden and the various judicial problems he faces face.
The former president has triumphed in nearly every primary for his party since January, except Washington, D.C., where Haley won on Sunday. Many of his rivals have thrown in the towel in the face of the tycoon’s devastating advance. But Haley, 52, is the only one who refused to abandon the race and was waiting for the results of “Super Tuesday” to analyze her future.
Haley, also a former governor of South Carolina, represents the moderate and establishment vote within the Republican Party, which is tired of the chaos and Trump style and wants to return to “normal” with a predictable country, open to the world and with global leadership.
He also frequently attacks Trump, 77, for his age and asks him to take an intellectual aptitude test. He proclaims that Americans are tired of the Biden-Trump duel and that a “generational change” is needed in the White House, a chance for the Democrat too.
The big question after “Super Tuesday” is: What will Haley do now? She already has almost no chance of being the nominee and wouldn’t even be Trump’s vice president because he hates her and calls her an “airhead.” She, however, aimed to obtain 40% of the votes in the less conservative states such as Maine, Vermont and Massachusetts and demonstrating that there is a large mass of Republicans who no longer want the tycoon in the White House. Early results last night showed he is competitive in those states.
But why keep spending money on a race you won’t win? Some analysts point out that he could seek an opportunity if Trump is convicted in one of the legal cases he faces. Others suggest he could run as an independent, which would take away a percentage that could be vital to the former president in November’s general election. Or maybe he is preparing for the next elections. Beyond any speculation“Super Tuesday” is a turning point for her and she could decline her candidacy in the next few days.
On the Democratic side, Biden has no major rivals, although there are two contenders still in the race, Congressman Dean Phillips and self-help author Marianne Williamson, who have never garnered much enthusiasm in previous primaries.
But the broad swath of states that voted on Super Tuesday gives Democrats a run for their money a more defined panorama of what his bases think, at a very tumultuous moment of his presidency.
Nearly 13% of Democratic voters voted last week in Michigan against Biden’s policies on the war in Gaza. It was not only Muslims and Arabs, but also young people and university students who fueled that protest vote. Was it just a local phenomenon or is it spreading across the country?
The age issue also weighs on Biden, 81 years old. A New York Times-Siena College poll found that 60% of those who voted for him in 2020 now think he is too old to occupy the White House.
But Democrats also see this week as an opportunity for Biden. With good results on “Super Tuesday”, this Thursday he will deliver his State of the Union speech before Congress and there he will try to praise the results of his government, especially in the economic field.
Ahead of the Nov. 5 general election, Trump now leads Biden by 2.3 points, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average. But Republicans lead in crucial states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia, Arizona and Michigan.
The 91 charges in various civil and criminal trials against the tycoon do not affect the Republican bases, who believe that everything is a witch hunt for justice, promoted by the Democrats, to prevent him from returning to the White House.
Beyond his victory in the “Super Tuesday” states, Trump got a big boost when the Supreme Court ruled in his favor on Monday and said his name should remain on the ballots of the state of Colorado, which he sought to veto him for insurrection. .
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.