BIDEN AND TRUMP WIN DEMOCRATIC, REPUBLICAN PRIMARY CONTESTS
NEW YORK: Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump won Democratic and Republican primaries in a handful of states on Tuesday, among some of the last contests on the 2024 primary calendar.
Trump, appearing on the ballot for the first time since his historic conviction for felony crimes, won primaries in New Mexico, where voters could opt for his rivals who have since dropped out, and Montana and New Jersey, where he was unopposed.
Biden won Democratic primaries in New Mexico, South Dakota, New Jersey, Montana and Washington, DC.
Trump and Biden were both expected to easily prevail in all of Tuesday’s contests as the last major candidates still running. But with many Americans saying in polls that they don’t want a rematch of the 2020 election, Tuesday’s results were watched for voter concerns about their choices as November’s election barrels closer.
Trump’s domination during the GOP primary season has also been shadowed by support from a minority of GOP voters for former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who dropped out in March. Tuesday’s contests were the first since Haley said two weeks ago that she would vote for Trump in November. In New Mexico, where she was still on the ballot, several thousand voters cast ballots for Haley, but she was running below 10% of the vote late on Tuesday.
Biden has faced his own protest vote in recent contests as Democratic voters unhappy with his handling of Israel’s war with Hamas seek to register their disapproval.
There were organised campaigns in several states on Tuesday to vote for “uncommitted” in the Democratic contests. In New Jersey’s primary, “uncommitted” was on the ballot in many counties above the phrase, “Justice For Palestine, Permanent Ceasefire Now!” More than 35,000 people voted “uncommitted’ in New Jersey as of late Tuesday.
After Tuesday, Democrats have two additional caucuses on June 8, for Guam and the US Virgin Islands, to close out their 2024 primary calendar.