President Biden and former President Donald Trump powered their way to primary victories from coast to coast on Super Tuesday, a symbolic starting gun for their anticipated general election rematch.
As of 11:13 p.m., Trump had won 12 states on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. Biden had picked up 14 Super Tuesday victories. There were more than 2,000 delegates up for grabs across the two parties.
Trump has steamrolled through the GOP primary, and is seeking to push his lone remaining rival, Nikki Haley, out the race. She had not spoken publicly about Tuesday’s results and did not have a public election night party.
She did score one surprise victory Tuesday, knocking off Trump in Vermont, according to The AP.
A win by Haley in any state would mark a major upset, but the Vermont victory did not change the trajectory of the race. Haley was seeking to score enough delegates to forestall Trump’s national primary victory, which could come as soon as next week. The longer Haley remains in the race, the more resources the Trump campaign must expend on the primary. It is unclear if Haley would endorse Trump if she drops out in the coming days.
Despite the Vermont drama, the broader Super Tuesday results confirmed the expectation going into the day: Biden and Trump are on the cusp of a rerun of the 2020 election.
In the Democratic primary, Biden has had to fend off protest votes from some Americans upset with his handling of Israel’s devastating military campaign in Gaza.
Biden said the Super Tuesday results crystallized the choice America faces.
“Are we going to keep moving forward or will we allow Donald Trump to drag us backwards into the chaos, division, and darkness that defined his term in office?” Biden said in a statement late Tuesday, asserting that Trump is “driven by grievance and grift, focused on his own revenge and retribution, not the American people.”
11:13 pm: Biden and Trump win California
The delegate-rich Golden State went the way of most of the rest of the map on Tuesday, with Biden and Trump both emerging victors, according to The AP.
11 pm: Biden loses American Samoa
Jason Palmer, a Baltimore resident who campaigned by Zoom call, beat Biden in the tiny Pacific territory of American Samoa, hauling in a reported 51 caucus votes, according to The AP.
10:45 pm: Nikki Haley beats Trump in Vermont
Nikki Haley salvaged a win over Trump in Vermont, The AP projected.
Haley edged out Trump by a narrow margin by rolling up a 3-1 win in Burlington, the biggest city in the deep-blue state.
It’s Haley’s second victory of the nomination quest after a win in the Washington, D.C., primary.
10:30 pm: Trump trashes Biden in Super Tuesday victory speech
Trump celebrated his win by trashing President Biden as he looked ahead to a near-certain general election rematch against the man who beat him in 2020.
“He’s the worst president in the history of our country,” Trump said. “It’s sad to see what’s happening.”
The former president slammed Biden in a rambling speech for mishandling the economy and the situation at the southern border.
“Our country is very divided,” Trump said. “In some ways we’re a Third World country.”
“This is the worst invasion. No country has ever seen anything like it,” he added.
Trump promised a crowd of supporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate that he would win back the White House.
“We’re going to take back our country,” Trump vowed.
9:24: Biden and Trump win Minnesota
The Associated Press said Biden and Trump took home victories in Minnesota. Trump has now won 10 states so far this evening.
9:09 pm: Biden and Trump pick up delegates in Colorado
In Colorado, Biden and Trump both won, according to the Associated Press. The state’s top court had knocked Trump off the ballot, but was overruled by the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s the westernmost state called so far.
9 pm: Vermont’s GOP race too close to call
In the only competitive state so far, the Republican race in Vermont was too close to call. Trump had a 2-point lead with about half the vote in, but most of the vote had not been reported in Burlington, Vermont’s largest city and the home of the flagship state university. Haley could score a large haul of votes from the city.
9 pm: Biden and Trump win Texas
Biden and Trump both notched victories in delegate-rich Texas, according to the Associated Press. The AP called the victories as soon as polls closed in West Texas. Shortly after, The AP also called Arkansas for Trump.
8:49 pm: Trump wins Massachusetts
The 45th president hit New England turbulence in Vermont, but Massachusetts — which has some Republican strongholds outside the Boston area — went for Trump, according to the Associated Press. The AP called the race with little of the vote counted, suggesting Haley was not competitive in the Bay State.
8:45 pm: Biden and Trump win Alabama; Biden wins Arkansas
The president and his predecessor scored wins in Alabama, according to the Associated Press. Biden also scored a quick AP victory call in Arkansas.
8:27 pm: Biden wins Massachusetts, Maine; Trump wins Maine
The Associated Press has called Massachusetts for both Trump and Biden. Trump also won Maine, The AP said.
8:16 pm: Trump and Biden win Oklahoma.
Both Trump and Biden picked up victories in the Sooner State, according to the Associated Press. Early results showed both candidates romping.
8:05 pm: Trump and Biden roll in Tennessee
Trump wins the Tennessee primary as expected with the Associated Press projecting him as the winner just after polls close.
Biden also won.
7:45 pm: Trump projected to win North Carolina
Trump is projected as the winner of the North Carolina Republican primary, according to the Associated Press.
Biden won the Democratic contest.
7:25 pm: Biden and Trump projected to win Virginia
Trump is projected by the Associated Press as the winner the Republican primary in Virginia. President Biden, meantime, has also won Virginia.
Trump was running up wide margins over Haley in Virginia, which was considered one of the former South Carolina governor’s best chances for an upset.
7:05 pm: No immediate calls for Trump in Virginia, Vermont
There was no immediate call of the Republican primaries in Virginia and Vermont by major networks as polls closed at 7 pm. The two states were considered among the best possibilities for Haley to pull off upsets of former Trump.
NBC News noted that Trump was leading in Virginia.
An immediate call for Trump in either state would have signaled a looming landslide over Haley in the remaining 13 primary states with results rolling in later Tuesday night.
6:50 pm: Haley has no public schedule
Haley’s schedule on Super Tuesday is a blank slate, raising questions about her future plans in the Republican presidential primary.
The former South Carolina governor has no events on her public schedule and did not respond to inquiries about whether she plans to speak after results are announced.
Haley has said she plans to stay in her long-shot race against Trump for as long as she can be “competitive.”
That sounds a lot less definitive than what Haley said about Super Tuesday in recent weeks, which was that she was 100% going to stay in the race until the biggest raft of primary states went to the polls.
5:50 pm: Biden wins Iowa’s Democratic race: The AP has called Iowa for Biden in the first primary result of the night. The election was held by mail beginning last month; Biden scored more than 90% of the vote, according to incomplete results.
Tuesday morning: Taylor Swift told her Instagram followers to vote in Super Tuesday states, but did not say who they should support. She endorsed Biden in 2020.
