Tuesday shows challenges for winners
with tremendous talent, and we want to have unity, and we’re going to have unity,” he said. “And it’s going to happen very quickly.”
Although Trump won every state that had been called when he spoke at 10 p.m. ET, he lost as much as one-third of the vote to Haley in some sizable battlegrounds, such as Virginia and Colorado, and Haley won the state of Vermont.
Haley’s bid wasn’t entirely a waste
In the eight years that Trump has ruled the GOP, Haley put up arguably the best fight of any primary alternative. She broke a barrier as the first woman to win a GOP primary, and survived a crowded field that included a former vice president and the governor of the third-largest state, who at one time polled well ahead.
She eagerly pointed out that she beat Biden in many general election polls, too.
This could be her launching pad for 2028, if the MAGA base will ever accept.
Haley has shown Trump isn’t invincible, and his campaign must worry about a significant portion of conservativeleaning voters who don’t want him to be the Republican standard-bearer.
Marquee governor’s race in NC
As expected, the two primary frontrunners in North Carolina’s much-anticipated race for governor this year prevailed.
Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein and Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson will face off in the fall. In presentation and policy solutions, the two couldn’t be more different: Stein is the liberal son of a famed civil rights attorney, while Robinson is a bombastic right-wing populist who called the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. a “communist.”
But for various reasons, this race is catching national attention as a yardstick for voters’ appetites.
Among the 11 gubernatorial elections this year, North Carolina is one of just two − along with New Hampshire − rated as a toss-up by election forecasters.
New NC voting rules tested
For the first time, Tar Heel State voters had to navigate a trove of new election laws, including a required proof of voter ID at polls after its implementation was delayed for years due to multiple lawsuits.
Other changes were a ban on ballot drop boxes and curtailing the use of mail-in ballot returns.
Karen Brinson Bell, executive director with the state Board of Elections, told reporters Tuesday morning no major issues with the photo ID rule were reported.
Civil rights leaders and other grassroots activists, however, told USA TODAY on Tuesday there were some reports of confusion and widespread concern about “infrequent voters” being deterred by the new rules.
Biden cruises to victory
It is easy to forget, but Biden has a primary race too − although it is hardly competitive.
The president swept Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., and author Marianne Williamson (who jumped back in) on Super Tuesday, drawing close to 90% of the vote in most states.
Biden’s campaign has been operating in general election mode for months, touting his administration’s accomplishments on infrastructure and student loan debt relief, to name a few.
Instead of rivals, Biden’s opponent is a pestering skepticism that he can win in November.
Naysayers point to anemic poll numbers, while other nervous Democrats worry about a rising anger among the activist left over Israel’s war in Gaza.
Then there are persistent questions about the president’s age and acuity.
That narrative isn’t likely to go away, but Democrats are aggressively pushing back.
‘Uncommitted’ and ... Palmer?
This narrative about Biden’s weaknesses wasn’t helped by Minnesota, where, with 63% of precincts reporting, 20% of Democratic voters chose “uncommitted,” while 69% chose Biden. And a little-known challenger named Jason Palmer won the tiny U.S. territory of American Samoa by 11 votes, which awarded the Baltimore-based investor six delegates.