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Former president Donald Trump continued his march to the Republican nomination with victories in North Carolina, Virginia and a host of other Super Tuesday contests.
The twice-impeached and four-times-indicted former president cruised to victory in Texas, Virginia, Colorado, Arkansas and North Carolina, trouncing former South Carolina Governor governor Nikki Haley. The contests also come as states including California wait to be called.
Republicans held primary contests in 15 states on Super Tuesday – including Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Virginia – as well as caucuses in Alaska and Utah. Super Tuesday typically marks the halfway point in primary contests and candidates who dominate on Super Tuesday typically go on to win the nomination of their party.
Super Tuesday puts up 865 delegates up for grabs, with the biggest states being Texas at 161 delegates and California with 122 delegates. The nominee for the Republican Party needs 1,215 delegates. So far, Mr Trump has won every contest in the GOP primary, losing only the District of Columbia, which Ms Haley won.
Mr Trump’s victories come as some polling shows him beating President Joe Biden. A New York Times/Siena College survey released this weekend showed Mr Trump beating Mr Biden handily. Mr Trump handily beats Vice President Kamala Harris in the same survey.
In addition to Mr Trump’s personal victories, lower-ballot candidates also showed his infliuence. In North Carolina, Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson – a hard-right Maga Republican who has made a series of homophobic and antisemitic remarks – won the Republican nomination for governor in a state Mr Trump won.
Mr Trump’s victories also come as Mitch McConnell, the leader of Republicans in the Senate, announced he would step aside as the head of the Republican conference in the upper chamber. Both of his potential successors – Senate Minority Whip John Thune and Texas Senator John Cornyn – endorsed Mr Trump.
But Mr Trump’s performances in states he wins also continue to reveal his weaknesses with suburban voters and college-educated voters. In Virginia, he won almost all regions except for the Washington, DC, suburb of Alexandria and neighboring Fairfax County as well as Albemarle County, where Charlottesville and the University of Virginia are located. In Vermont, a largely white, highly-educated New England state with a Republican governor despite its liberal reputation, Ms Haley narrowly trailed Mr Trump with slightly more than half of the vote reported.
More to follow …
