UPDATED, with results in VA, NC: As the first polls closed on Super Tuesday, Joe Biden and Donald Trump were projected to be the winners of their party primaries in Virginia and North Carolina, on a night where they are expected to solidify the chances of a November general election rematch.
Biden also was projected to win Vermont.
The lingering question is how well Nikki Haley does in the contests and whether it is enough of a showing to continue in her bid for the Republican nomination. Her best chance of the night was seen in Vermont, where the Republican race was too early to call, while she looked to make a significant showing in Virginia.
“It is pretty clear Donald Trump is going to be the Republican nominee,” said CNN’s John King. “Let’s keep and open mind, but the math doesn’t lie.” Pundits began to focus on where Haley’s voters would go — to Trump or Biden — if she drops out.
As Trump’s last remaining rival for the Republican nomination, Haley has tried to draw on disaffected Trump voters as well as some disappointed Democrats, but she has won just one primary, in the District of Columbia.
Some 16 states and one territory are voting: In addition to Virginia, Vermont and North Carolina, they include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. A Democratic caucus also is being held in American Samoa. Earlier this evening, Iowa Democrats revealed the results of an all-mail in caucus, with Biden winning more than 90% of the vote.
Networks are devoting extensive resources to Super Tuesday, even though the competitive landscape is much more muted than in cycles past. Major news networks featured countdown clocks to the first polls closing at 7 p.m. ET. All three broadcast networks were planning primetime specials devoted to the results. Earlier this evening, CNN and MSNBC released some exit poll information from selected states, including North Carolina and Virginia, showing majorities of Republican voters still don’t believe the 2020 election was legitimate and that they would still support Trump even if he was convicted of a crime.
As much as Trump and Biden were expected to dominate the evening, they were not expected to clinch their party’s respective nomination just yet. That could come later this month. Trump needs 1,215 delegates; Biden needs 1,968.
Some of the more suspenseful races will occur down ballot.
In California, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), all Democrats, and Republican Steve Garvey were the highest profile candidates vying for a rare open U.S. Senate seat. The top two finishers, regardless of party, will advance to the November election.
Other races on the radar include Schiff’s 30th district congressional seat, where actor Ben Savage was among a field of 15 candidates seeking to advance to the general election. In the race for Porter’s seat, State Sen. Dave Min, a Democrat, is running against attorney Joanna Weiss. The race has been notable because United Democracy Project, a campaign PAC of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, has spent $4.6 million against Min, according to Semafor. On the Republican side, former assemblyman Scott Baugh was the most prominent candidate, having narrowly lost to Porter in 2022.
In the 22nd district, Rep. David Valadao (R-CA), one of two Republicans remaining in the House who voted to impeach Trump, is fighting to hold on to his seat. While he faces a challenge from another Republican, there was the possibility that Democrats will split the vote and be left off the ballot in the general election.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon faced a crowded field of challengers in his race for reelection. Gascon has been the target of two recall efforts.
In North Carolina, voters were selecting party candidates to face off in the open governor’s seat. Mark Robinson, the lieutenant governor, was projected to win the Republican nomination, despite a record of making antisemitic and anti-LGBT comments.
