Super Tuesday: The favorites won, with two surprises

Super Tuesday marks the culmination of the US presidential primaries. On this day, supporters of both parties cast their votes in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia. In addition, there is a Republican primary in Alaska and a Democratic primary in the archipelago of American Samoa. The results of the Democrats' weeks-long mail-in ballot in Iowa are also scheduled to be announced today.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump won 12 of the 13 settled Tuesday primaries of the Republican Party as part of "Super Tuesday." President Joe Biden - 15 of 16 settled Democratic primaries. Both are already virtually certain of their parties' nominations in the November presidential election. The leading candidates scored one defeat each - Biden lost in American Samoa to the widely unknown businessman Jason Palmer. As for the Republican race, however, Nikki Haley won in Vermont - reports NBC News.

Donald Trump, as expected, decisively defeated former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley in almost all states voting on Tuesday. However, he unexpectedly lost to her in small and liberal Vermont, New England. It was his second defeat in the primary, following Haley's victory on Sunday in another small liberal bastion, the US capital.

Trump won in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. In all these states, he won more than 60 percent of the vote, while in Alabama, he won more than 80 percent. As of midnight Washington time on Tuesday, votes in the Republican primaries in Utah and Alaska had still not been counted, but Trump was the clear favorite.

While it is unclear exactly how many delegates Trump won at the July election convention in Milwaukee, he is already very close to amassing the victory-giving half of the 2,429 delegates.

In his victory speech in the evening, Trump said he had an "amazing" evening and reiterated many of his campaign promises, including mass deportations of immigrants. He also stated that regarding taking care of its borders and elections, the U.S. is a "third world country" and warned that if he doesn't win in the November elections, "we won't have a country."

Joe Biden achieved over 80 percent of the vote in almost every race, against several percent support for Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips and guidance author Marianne Williamson.

Biden lost the primary in American Samoa to a widely unknown businessman, Jason Palmer. As the Democratic Party in American Samoa announced on its website, Palmer - a businessman and investor with past ties to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - defeated the incumbent president, winning 51 votes against 40 votes cast for Biden.

Although the primary in the Pacific archipelago has no practical bearing on the race for the party nomination, Biden thus became the first president since Jimmy Carter to lose a primary race.

Source: NBC News, ABC News