The unknown Democrat who denied Biden a clean Super Tuesday sweep
JASON PALMER last year attended an event for “lesser-known candidates” who hoped to become the Democrat nominee for president.
The 52-year-old venture capitalist was one of 18 candidates at the gathering in New Hampshire, all of them largely unknown outside the room.
But on Tuesday night Mr Palmer appeared on TV screens across the US as he handed Joe Biden his only defeat on Super Tuesday – before it was later downgraded to a draw.
Out of 91 ballots cast in American Samoa’s caucus, Mr Palmer won 51 and Mr Biden won 40, according to the local party. Mr Palmer’s 56 per cent share amounted to 3.4 delegates but was incorrectly rounded up to four. Mr Biden’s 44 per cent share amounted to 2.6 delegates but was incorrectly rounded down to two.
With fewer than 50,000 residents, the vote in the territory is unlikely to pose too much of a challenge to Mr Biden’s march toward his party’s nomination. But who is the self-described entrepreneur and investor challenging his clean sweep?
Mr Palmer had never visited American Samoa before his victory. He had campaigned remotely, doing Zoom town halls and talking to locals, all while “listening to them about their concerns and what matters to them”.
Mr Palmer differentiates himself from the president as a “modern” candidate, saying that voters want “someone who is more of the 21st century than Joe Biden”. In February, Mr Palmer called for a ceasefire in Gaza in a video posted on X, formerly Twitter.
“We need to withhold all military aid from Israel until a ceasefire is adopted, we need to be pro-peace in that region,” he said.
Mr Palmer has qualified for the presidential ballot in 16 US states and territories. He has worked for various businesses and nonprofits, usually related to technology and education, and is a Baltimore local.
The companies on his record include Microsoft and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Mr Palmer has funded some of his campaign with a loan of $500,000 of his own cash. “You can’t take the money with you when you die,” he said. “But you can change the world while you’re here.”