According to forecasts from the major TV networks, the Democrat and his Republican rival won the respective primaries in Georgia, Mississippi and Washington on Tuesday.
Trump thus exceeded the number of 1,215 delegates he needs to be re-elected as the Republican Party’s presidential candidate. Biden, in turn, exceeded the number of 1,968 delegates he needs from his Democratic Party. This means that the presidential election on November 5th will be a repeat of the 2020 election, in which Biden defeated the then incumbent Trump.
Challengers gave up
The 77-year-old Trump has effectively been the Republican presidential candidate since his last intra-party rival Nikki Haley dropped out of the race following Super Tuesday last week. The right-wing populist, who remains very popular with the right-wing base, had clearly dominated the Republican primaries since they began in January, despite his massive judicial problems. His challengers – including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – gave up one by one.
After the outcome of the primaries on Tuesday, the Republican Party congratulated Trump on his success. “Congratulations, President Trump,” the party wrote in the short message service (Make America Great Again) on.
“We will take back our once great country”
Trump claimed in his victory declaration that the Republican Party was united behind him. He criticized Biden as “dishonest” and wrote in the online service he founded, Truth Social: “We will take back our once great country.”
For the Democrats, the outcome of the primaries was almost certain from the start: Biden had no serious competitors from his own ranks, although many Democrats consider the 81-year-old to be too old to run once more. Biden thanked Democratic voters in a statement Tuesday for trusting him to “lead our party – and our country – once more.” He warned that Trump posed a greater “danger” than ever before.
The presidential candidates of the two major US parties will be formally chosen at party conferences in the summer following the nationwide primaries, which run until June. The Republican convention takes place in July in Milwaukee and the Democratic convention in August in Chicago.
