Biden, Trump look to lock down nominations

The Big Story 

Both President Biden and former President Trump are poised to officially clinch their parties’ nominations for 2024 on Tuesday, with a few more states holding their contests.

© AP Photo

Georgia, Mississippi and Washington state are set to hold their primaries for the Republican and Democratic nominating process. Hawaii is set to hold its Republican caucus. This tally offers up enough delegates that Trump and Biden could both mathematically become the presumptive nominees.

Biden has won the Northern Mariana Islands presidential primary after it held its contest. The territory, which is based in the Pacific not far from Asia, is many hours ahead of the continental United States, so the outcome was determined in the early morning hours on the mainland Tuesday.

Biden and Trump appeared very likely to become the nominees by the time that the first votes started to be cast with Iowa and New Hampshire in January. But their dominance of almost all the Super Tuesday contests last week put their delegate counts almost at the point needed to make it a certainty.

Decision Desk HQ has Biden at 1,867 delegates attained, just about 100 short of the 1,968 delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination. Meanwhile, Trump stands at 1,077, needing just a bit more to get to the 1,215 necessary to win the GOP nomination.

Tuesday will likely mark the end of what has been one of the most predictable primary seasons in modern American history. Biden and Trump maintained a large lead in the polls in the leadup to voting and easily won the early contests that usually decide who will win the nomination.

But both remain with some arguable electoral weaknesses exposed during the primary process. An effort to get Democrats to vote uncommitted as a protest against Biden’s position on the war between Israel and Hamas has seen moderate success, relatively speaking — reaching 13 percent in Michigan and almost 19 percent in Minnesota.

At the same time, while Trump has comfortably won most races, as much as 30 percent of the Republican electorate or more voted for other candidates through Super Tuesday, demonstrating at least some dissatisfaction with the likely nominee.

Essential Reads 

Key election stories and other recent campaign coverage:

Republican group planning $50M campaign to block Trump from reelection

Biden wins Northern Mariana Islands Democratic primary

Biden campaign: Trump praise for Hitler ‘disgraceful but wholly unsurprising’

The Countdown 

Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:

• 125 days until the Republican National Convention

• 160 days until the Democratic National Convention

• 238 days until the 2024 general election

In Other News 

Branch out with a different read from The Hill:

Trump team slashing RNC positions after takeover: Report

Just days after receiving a new leadership team spearheaded by former President Trump, the Republican National Committee (RNC) is slashing its staff, according to reports. More than 60 people have been fired, including senior staff in political, data and communications departments, following former Chair Ronna McDaniel’s departure. Some were told they had to leave their positions immediately, while others have until the …

Full Story

Paul rips Trump for endorsing ‘worst Deep State candidate this cycle’

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) ripped former President Trump on Monday for endorsing former House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Rogers’s (R-Mich.) bid for Senate, slamming the former congressman as the “worst Deep State candidate this cycle.” “Donald Trump just endorsed the worst Deep State candidate this cycle. @MikeRogersForMI is a never Trumper, and a card carrying member of the spy state that seeks to destroy Trump,” Paul posted …

Full Story

Around the Nation 

Local and state headlines regarding campaigns and elections:

• Robin Vos recall organizers fail to submit enough valid signatures, initial review finds (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

• In Ohio, a congressional candidate leaves a trail of court cases and controversy (The Cincinnati Enquirer)

What We’re Reading 

Election news we’ve flagged from other outlets:

• Where the ‘uncommitted’ protest vote could jolt Biden (Politico)

• Trump mocks Biden’s stutter again, drawing outrage (The Washington Post)

Elsewhere Today 

Key stories on The Hill right now:

Biden special counsel Robert Hur takes fire from all sides: Live coverage

Lawmakers on Tuesday are grilling special counsel Robert Hur over his investigation into President Biden’s handling of classified documents. Hur’s report cleared Biden of wrongdoing, but he still drew the ire of Democrats with his comments on the president’s memory. Biden-Hur transcript offers insight into special counsel’s … Read more

Democrats use clips of Trump to counter Biden memory claims

Democrats on Tuesday sought to turn the tables on Republicans who zeroed in on special counsel Robert Hur’s commentary on President Biden’s memory, turning repeatedly to video clips of former President Trump mangling words, mixing up individuals or forgetting details. House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) opened … Read more

What People Think 

Opinions related to campaigns and elections submitted to The Hill:

• America doesn’t want Trump or Biden — we need a No Labels challenger, now 

• Bitter rivals Tucker Carlson and Chris Cuomo give viewers something no one expected: a civil conversation  

• America needs leaders with political courage 

You’re all caught up. See you next time!