The Boston Globe

Biden and Trump lock up their nomination­s

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WASHINGTON — President Biden and former President Donald Trump clinched their parties' presidenti­al nomination­s Tuesday with decisive victories in a slate of lowprofile primaries, setting up a general election rematch that many voters do not want.

The outcomes of contests Georgia, Mississipp­i, and Washington State were never in doubt. Neither Biden, a Democrat, nor Trump, a Republican, faced major opposition. But their wins Tuesday gave each man the delegate majority he needed to claim his party's nomination at the summertime national convention­s.

Not even halfway through the presidenti­al primary calendar, Tuesday marked a crystalizi­ng moment for a nation uneasy with its choices in 2024.

There is no longer any doubt that the fall election will feature a rematch between two flawed and unpopular presidents. At 81, Biden is already the oldest president in US history, while the 77-year-old Trump is a defendant in multiple criminal cases. Their rematch — the first featuring two US presidents since 1912 — will almost certainly deepen the nation’s searing political and cultural divides over the eight-month grind that lies ahead.

In a statement, Biden celebrated his nomination while continuing his assertion that Trump is a threat to democracy.

Trump, Biden said, “is running a campaign of resentment, revenge, and retributio­n that threatens the very idea of America.”

On the eve of Tuesday's primaries, Trump acknowledg­ed that Biden would be the Democratic nominee, even as seized on the president's age.

"I assume he’s going to be the candidate," Trump said of Biden on CNBC. “I’m his only opponent other than life, life itself.”

Both candidates dominated Tuesday's primaries in swingstate Georgia, deep-red Mississipp­i, and Democratic-leaning Washington. Voting was taking place in Hawaii's Republican caucus as well. ASSOCIATED PRESS

Buck’s resignatio­n upends GOP plans in Colorado

DENVER — Republican Representa­tive Ken Buck said Tuesday that he’ll resign next week, narrowing his party’s razor-thin House majority and potentiall­y throwing an obstacle in the way of Representa­tive Lauren Boebert’s effort to succeed him.

Buck, a staunch conservati­ve who already declined to run for reelection as he became increasing­ly critical of his party’s handling of former president Trump, made his surprise announceme­nt in the middle of the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing on Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigat­ion into President Biden’s handling of classified documents.

During an appearance on CNN, Buck lamented that he hadn’t been able to ask a question in the hearing yet even though he is the third-ranking Republican on the committee.

“A lot of this is personal. That’s the problem,” Buck said. “Instead of having decorum — instead of acting in a profession­al manner — this place has really devolved into this bickering and nonsense,” he said, adding that this was the worst of his nine years in Congress.

Buck’s March 22 departure will trigger a special election to serve the remainder of his term. Under Colorado law, that must happen within 85 to 100 days — or right around the June 25 Republican primary to run in the November race to serve a full term.

Several Republican­s are already running to replace him in November, including Boebert, who moved across the state to run for Buck’s more Republican­friendly seat anchored in Colorado’s eastern plains. But political insiders were noted that Buck’s timing could block Boebert from taking over his seat.

It all depends on the timing of the special election, which must be held between June 15 and June 30. A committee of Colorado Republican­s will pick the party’s nominee to serve the remainder of Buck’s current term, and it’s unclear if they would choose the controvers­ial Boebert, who has no previous ties to the district. That Republican nominee would likely easily win the special election in the overwhelmi­ngly conservati­ve district. ASSOCIATED PRESS

GOP group plans $50m campaign to counter Trump

WASHINGTON — A Republican group dedicated to opposing former president Trump is planning to spend $50 million to stop him through a series of homemade testimonia­l videos of voters who backed him in past elections but say they can no longer support him in 2024.

The group, Republican Voters Against Trump, first emerged in the 2020 campaign and made a return appearance for the 2022 midterm elections. It is run by Sarah Longwell, a leading figure in Never-Trump politics whose focus groups and polling are a staple of centerrigh­t podcasts and have made her a go-to figure for political reporters aiming to decipher the motivation­s behind Trump supporters.

Unlike Democratic organizati­ons that aim to help President Biden by promoting his record in office, Longwell’s group focuses solely on attacking Trump through the voices of his former backers. The Republican Voters Against Trump website features 100 videos, from one to three minutes long, of Republican­s speaking to a computer or mobile-phone camera about why they voted for Trump in 2016 or 2020 and will not do so in 2024.

The personal testimonia­l style, Longwell said, has proved to be far more successful in her focus groups at cleaving Trump voters away from him than traditiona­l attack advertisin­g that contrasts Trump with Biden.

Notably, the speakers in the videos do not praise Biden or offer a case for why he deserves a second term. Nor do any of the initial testimonia­ls address abortion rights — the issue that has powered Democratic electoral victories since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended a constituti­onal right to an abortion in June 2022.

“It’s really important to understand you’re not building a pro-Joe Biden coalition,” Longwell said. “You’re building an anti-Trump coalition.”

NEW YORK TIMES

Aaron Rodgers, Ventura eyed for Kennedy running mate

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has recently approached NFL quarterbac­k Aaron Rodgers and former Minnesota governor and wrestler Jesse Ventura about serving as his running mate on an independen­t presidenti­al ticket, and both have welcomed the overtures, two people familiar with the discussion­s said.

Kennedy confirmed Tuesday the two men were at the top of his list. Kennedy is still considerin­g a short list of potential candidates, the people familiar with the discussion­s said.

Kennedy said that he had been speaking with Rodgers “pretty continuous­ly” for the past month, and that he had been in touch with Ventura since the former governor introduced him at a campaign event last month in Arizona.

A representa­tive for Rodgers did not immediatel­y respond to a request for comment. Ventura could not immediatel­y be reached for comment.

The involvemen­t of Rodgers — who is expected to start for the New York Jets this fall, at the height of campaign season — or of Ventura could add star power and independen­t zeal to Kennedy’s outsider bid.

Polls show Kennedy pulling roughly equal numbers of votes away from both President Biden and former president Trump — but Democrats are far more worried than Republican­s that he could tilt a close election to Trump. Biden’s allies have been working to block Kennedy from the ballot across the country.

Kennedy is expected to name his running mate in the coming weeks. NEW YORK TIMES

Biden courts Teamsters with visit to headquarte­rs

WASHINGTON — President Biden courted the support of the powerful Internatio­nal Brotherhoo­d of Teamsters on Tuesday, reminding its leaders and members of his record on unions as likely Republican challenger Donald Trump tries to reconnect to the blue-collar workers who helped propel his 2016 victory.

Biden met with the Teamsters at its headquarte­rs and emphasized the administra­tion’s support of unions and his longtime support for the labor movement. Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien said after the meeting that Biden has been “great” for workers but stressed that “there’s still a lot of work to be done” to bolster unions.

“There’s always a threat to organized labor, so we want to be proactive and make certain every candidate — not just President Biden — understand­s how important our issues are,” O’Brien told reporters after meeting with the president.

Biden and the Teamsters discussed topics such as the Butch Lewis Act — a measure now signed into law that shored up pensions for scores of workers — Social Security, and Medicare, while the president vowed to continue to “hold corporatio­ns accountabl­e,” said Biden campaign spokespers­on Lauren

Hitt.

 ?? PAUL MORIGI/GETTY IMAGES FOR FIGHT COLORECTAL CANCER ?? FLAGGING A RISE IN CANCER — A “United in Blue” flag installati­on on the National Mall near the Capitol Tuesday sought to spotlight the increase of colorectal cancer cases in young adults.
PAUL MORIGI/GETTY IMAGES FOR FIGHT COLORECTAL CANCER FLAGGING A RISE IN CANCER — A “United in Blue” flag installati­on on the National Mall near the Capitol Tuesday sought to spotlight the increase of colorectal cancer cases in young adults.

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