Credit: New York Magazine
As the United States gears up for the 2024 presidential election, the stage is set for what promises to be an electrifying contest. Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are on the brink of officially securing their respective parties’ nominations, marking a significant milestone in the electoral process.
This Tuesday is expected to be a pivotal moment, with Georgia, Mississippi, and Washington state holding their primaries, alongside Hawaii’s Republican caucus. These contests carry enough delegates for both Biden and Trump to mathematically become the presumptive nominees for the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively.
President Biden has already clinched a victory in the Northern Mariana Islands presidential primary, highlighting the global interest in this election. Located in the Pacific, this territory’s outcome was determined hours ahead of the continental United States, adding an international dimension to the primaries.
Biden and Trump’s path to nomination has been remarkably dominant, with both candidates sweeping almost all the Super Tuesday contests. This show of strength has brought their delegate counts tantalizingly close to the threshold needed for official nomination. Biden is nearly 100 delegates short of the 1,968 required for the Democratic nomination, while Trump is just shy of the 1,215 needed for the GOP nod.
This year’s primary season has been one of the most predictable in recent memory, with both Biden and Trump maintaining solid leads in the polls and easily winning early contests. However, the primary process has also laid bare some electoral vulnerabilities for both candidates. An effort to encourage Democrats to vote uncommitted as a protest against Biden’s stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict has gained relative traction in states like Michigan and Minnesota.
On the Republican side, despite Trump’s comfortable victories, a significant portion of the GOP electorate—up to 30% or more through Super Tuesday—has cast their votes for alternative candidates. This reveals a level of dissatisfaction within the party with the likely nominee.
As we move closer to the official nominations, the 2024 election is shaping up to be a rematch between two towering figures in American politics. Both Biden and Trump have demonstrated formidable staying power and command over their respective parties, setting the stage for a closely watched and potentially divisive campaign.
The coming months will likely see intensified efforts from both camps to consolidate support, address any weaknesses exposed during the primaries, and prepare for the general election battle. As the political landscape continues to evolve, all eyes will be on these two veteran politicians as they vie once again for the highest office in the land, in what promises to be a historic and consequential election.
