5 takeaways from Super Tuesday 

President Biden and former President Trump won the primaries with relatively predictable results in more than 12 states on Super Tuesday, where they were in hot pursuit in the run-up to the general election.

Biden won the Democratic race that night by a landslide, except for the caucus in American Samoa, where he lost to a strong challenger.

On the Republican side, Trump easily extended his winning streak. With the exception of Vermont, his rival Nikki Haley tripped him up for his first win.

While the campaign appears to be all but set for a general election showdown between Trump and Biden, Super Tuesday highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of the presidential candidates as November approaches.

Here are five takeaways from the night.

Big win for front runners

To no one’s surprise, current and former presidents overwhelmingly dominated their respective parties’ primaries.

Trump won most of the Republican primaries and came close to winning the party’s nomination. The former president opened the night with wins in Virginia and North Carolina, followed by wins in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Texas and Tennessee. . Delegate-rich California was perhaps Trump’s biggest victory of the night.

In a tense speech from his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump called for Republican unity and specifically avoided mentioning Haley.

“We have a great Republican Party with great talent, and we want unity, we will come together, and it will happen very quickly,” Trump said.

Starting with the Iowa primary, Biden’s victory was clear early in the night. The president went on to win Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont and Virginia. Like President Trump, Biden’s biggest victory of the night came in California, where more than 400 delegates were in attendance.

But one of the most surprising moments of the night was the victory of little-known Democratic candidate Jason Palmer in the American Samoa Democratic caucus.

Biden directly criticized Trump in a campaign statement following the results, saying his opponent is likely “driven by frustration and remorse, and focused on his own revenge and retribution rather than the American people.” said.

But both red flags

All may not be smooth sailing for the incumbent and his predecessor heading into a tense rematch in November.

For Biden, his biggest red flag was Minnesota, which has an “uncommitted” voting option in the Democratic primary. approached 20% As of late Tuesday night, turnout was reported to be just under 60 percent.

The “resolute” push, which also appeared in last month’s Michigan primary, is the result of Democratic dissatisfaction with Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. Michigan organizers led a campaign to get Democratic voters to vote in protest, ultimately garnering a remarkable 13% of the vote.

The success of the effort in Minnesota is another warning for the Biden campaign that the Middle East wars will have an impact, as some supporters seek to replicate it in other states.

Super Tuesday exit polls may show red flags for Trump. Trump won Virginia and North Carolina NBC News exit poll More than 30% of voters in both states said they would not vote for the former president if he was convicted. According to the same exit polls, Trump appears to be struggling with college-educated voters in both states.

Hayley wins

Trump nearly defeated Haley in the race Tuesday night, but Super Tuesday didn’t completely wash Haley out. The former U.N. ambassador won his first state in Vermont on Tuesday, following his victory in the District of Columbia Republican primary on Saturday.

But the state will only win 17 Republican delegates, not enough to make Haley’s campaign competitive. Trump currently has 979 delegates on his way to the 1,215 needed to win the nomination. Haley has just 82 delegates.

It is unclear what path Haley will take in the presidential race. In a statement released late Tuesday, Ms. Haley’s campaign did not indicate next actions and appeared to criticize Ms. Trump’s call for unity in her victory speech earlier in the evening.

“Nicki has the support of millions of Americans across the country today, including in Vermont, where she became the first Republican woman to win two presidential primaries,” said Oliva Perez-Cubas, a national spokeswoman for Haley’s campaign. I feel honored.”

“Unity is not achieved simply by saying, “We are united.” The majority of Republican primary voters in each state continue to express deep concerns about Donald Trump. still exists. That’s not the unity our party needs to succeed. The Republican Party and America will be better off if we address the concerns of those voters.”

Republican primaries highlight divisions within the party

While the presidential election was the focus of Super Tuesday, there were also several important congressional races, including a Senate race in California and a handful of House races in North Carolina.

Some Republican congressional primaries have highlighted divisions within the party.

In Texas, Representative Tony Gonzalez risks being forced into a runoff against Republican challenger Brandon Herrera. As of late Tuesday night, the incumbent was several points shy of the 50 percent or higher threshold needed to clinch victory.

Mr. Gonzalez was criticized by the Texas Republican Party last year for supporting gun reform legislation in the wake of the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, while Mr. Herrera announced His bid was a critique of how “Republicans sworn to protect gun rights…have turned their backs on those values.”

In Arkansas, incumbent Congressman Steve Womack (R) defeated Republican Clint Penzo in the primary.

Womack had it, but backing State Republican leaders, including Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Governor Penzo criticized Womack accused her of not being conservative enough and of opposing efforts by Rep. Jim Jordan to replace former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

A blow to California progressives

Democratic Representative Adam Schiff (California) is advancing to the general election alongside Republican candidate Steve Garvey in California’s closely watched Senate race, and Schiff’s fellow progressive lawmaker 2. The plan was to hold people back.

Rep. Katie Porter and Rep. Barbara Lee were also vying for a rare open Senate seat in the Golden State, but they were among the top spots in California’s nonpartisan primary, where the top two vote-getters advance regardless of party affiliation. It didn’t reach .

The state suffers from extremely low voter turnout skewed toward older people and whites, which likely favored Garvey and Schiff over Porter, who appears to be more popular among younger voters. observers say.

Schiff’s camp seemed to be pushing for a showdown with Garvey to avoid a more awkward blue-on-blue battle with Porter or Lee.In the days leading up to the primary, Porter underlined There was a sign warning that she and her famous whiteboard “may be permanently expelled from Congress.”

The race is now gearing up for a partisan battle between Democrats and big-time Republicans in the general election, but the Super Tuesday results will leave Mr. Porter and Mr. Lee, prominent progressives from the blue stronghold, This means that both men will leave the House of Representatives next year. .

Mr. Schiff and Mr. Garvey currently hold the seat vacated by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and currently held by Sen. LaFonza Butler (D-Calif.), who was appointed on an interim basis. We are doing sparring to get the.