Super Tuesday's surprises: Biden and Trump lead, face setbacks
The Super Tuesday primaries, a crucial phase in the process of selecting the presidential candidates for each party, took place across 17 states including Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia.
On the Republican side, primaries were held in Alaska, while Democrats cast their votes in the American Samoa archipelago. In addition, the results from the Democratic mail-in voting in Iowa, which has been ongoing for weeks, are set to be announced. Some state results have already been made public.
Super Tuesday showdown: Trump vs. Biden
On Super Tuesday, former President Donald Trump secured victories in 12 of the 13 decided Republican Party primaries, while President Joe Biden won 15 out of the 16 decided Democratic primaries. These results almost guarantee their nominations for the November presidential elections by their respective parties.
Trump, as anticipated, significantly outpaced former US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, in almost all the states voting on Tuesday. However, he faced an unexpected defeat to her in the small, liberal state of Vermont in New England. This was his second loss in the primary season, following another surprise defeat by Haley in Washington D.C.
The former president triumphed in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, garnering over 60% of the votes in these states. In Alabama, his support soared above 80%. As of midnight Eastern Time on Tuesday, the tally in the Republican primaries in Utah and Alaska were still pending, but Trump was the evident frontrunner.
President Biden, on the other hand, achieved even more convincing victories on Super Tuesday, obtaining over 80% of the votes in nearly every contest, overshadowing the single-digit support for Minnesota congressman Dean Phillips and self-help author Marianne Williamson.
Yet, Biden too experienced a defeat. In the Democratic primaries on the American Samoa islands, a US territory, he lost to the relatively unknown businessman Jason Palmer. Out of the 91 voters, 50 opted for Palmer, while 41 backed Biden. Although this result does not significantly impact the broader primary campaign, it marks Biden as the first incumbent president since Jimmy Carter to lose a primary race.
A potential concern for Biden could be the outcome in Minnesota, where despite securing 69% of the votes, nearly 20% of the ballots cast were not in favor of any candidate.
