2024-03-06 05:39:11
Former President Donald Trump scored several landslide victories in the US Republican primaries on Super Tuesday. He clearly prevailed once morest his remaining opponent Nikki Haley in twelve states, including Texas, California and Virginia. With a narrow victory in Vermont, the former UN ambassador was able to avoid a complete election disaster. Among the Democrats, incumbent Joe Biden initially achieved huge victories in 15 of the 16 voting states.
What was particularly painful for Haley was the clear defeat in Virginia, the only larger state in which she had expected chances. Trump won there with 63 to 35 percent. His victories in Massachusetts, Colorado and Minnesota also hovered around a two-thirds majority. In California it was 75 percent and in Texas it was 78 percent. There were also values above the 70 percent mark for Trump in North Carolina, Maine, Arkansas and Tennessee. In Oklahoma and Alabama it even reached more than 80 percent.
However, the political home of the far-left Senator Bernie Sanders saved Haley from complete ruin. In the sparsely populated east coast state, she defeated Trump with 50 percent to 46 percent of the vote. Before Super Tuesday, the former US ambassador to the UN had only achieved a symbolic victory once morest Trump in the capital district of Washington DC; in the eight remaining primaries, the president, who was voted out in 2020, had the better end.
Shortly before Haley’s victory was announced, Trump appeared in front of his supporters and spoke of a “fantastic evening.” In his victory speech, he did not address his fellow candidate, but rather spoke out once morest incumbent Biden in a familiar manner. He criticized the Democrat as “the worst president in the history of the country.” Biden, for his part, warned of the consequences of a possible second Trump presidency for the country. Trump is determined to destroy America’s democracy and take away basic freedoms, including the ability for women to make decisions regarding their health, Biden said.
Haley did not initially comment. Her team commented cautiously on the results. The campaign team’s spokeswoman, Olivia Perez-Cubas, said on Wednesday night that they were “honored” to have received the “support of millions of Americans across the country, including in Vermont.” In every state there are still large numbers of Republican voters who express their “deep concern regarding Donald Trump.” This is not the unity the party needs for its success, said Perez-Cubas.
Biden won more than 90 percent of the vote in Iowa, Maine, Alabama, Tennessee and California. It landed just below that in Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado, Arkansas, Vermont, Massachusetts and Utah. With 69 percent, Biden achieved the worst result in Minnesota, where 19 percent of the pre-election participants deliberately made no decision. In the Republican stronghold of Oklahoma, he only got 73 percent. In the external territory of American Samoa, the incumbent even suffered an embarrassing defeat. With just 91 votes cast, entrepreneur Jason Palmer prevailed with 51 votes to 40.
The only remaining decision on Wednesday night was in Alaska, where the last polling stations were supposed to close at 6 a.m. CET. The final results from California will probably only be available in days.
The primary elections formally determine the delegates who will elect the presidential candidate at the Democratic and Republican nomination conventions in the summer. In the Republican race, Trump already had 910 votes following his first Super Tuesday victories, while Haley only had 84 votes. At least 1215 votes are required for the nomination. Biden had collected 1,312 votes and was also still well away from the absolute majority (1,968).
Unlike in previous years, Super Tuesday this year is virtually devoid of any political tension. While Biden is the incumbent among the Democrats, observers see no chance for Haley among the Republicans. It was widely expected that she would throw in the towel following Super Tuesday. If she fails to do so, this might indicate that she will run as an independent candidate. Haley recently made it clear that, following a change in Republican party leadership, she no longer feels bound to the original commitment to support the Republican presidential candidate in the November election. Haley had recently significantly intensified her attacks on Trump and – similar to Biden – sees herself as a defender of US democracy once morest the incumbent.
Post-election surveys, however, indicated the importance of the legal proceedings once morest Trump for the Republican ex-president’s re-election chances. As the data provider Edison Research announced on Tuesday, 40 percent of participants in the Republican primary in Virginia believed that Trump would no longer be suitable for the office of president if he were found guilty. In North Carolina it was 32 percent and in California it was 23 percent.
Virginia holds open primaries in which any voter can vote for any party, according to Ballotpedia. Therefore, Democrats might also be included in the sample. The vote in North Carolina, on the other hand, is tied to party lines.
Trump faces a slew of lawsuits. Some assume that a final verdict will not be made until following the election in early November. A close result is generally expected in the vote. If the leading Republican candidate wins, as president he might have some cases dropped and, according to experts, even pardon himself. In all cases, Trump has rejected the allegations and spoke of politically motivated proceedings.
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