A voter fills out his ballot at a polling booth in Manhattan, New York on April 2, 2024. Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and Wisconsin held their presidential primaries on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: Seth Wenig
U.S. President Joe Biden and his Republican rival and predecessor Donald Trump have won their presidential primaries in four more States as they are set for a 2020 rematch in November.
On April 2, hundreds of delegates were up for grabs in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and Wisconsin, a crucial battleground State.
Multiple names remained on the presidential ballots in the four States, though neither Mr. Trump, 77, nor Mr. Biden, 81, faced any major challenger.
In all the four States where the primaries were held on April 2, Mr. Trump bagged more than 75% of the votes, while Mr. Biden, a Democrat, received more than 80% of the votes.
Mr. Trump now has 1,860 delegates. Mr. Biden has won 3,030 delegates so far, against the minimum requirement of 1,968 delegates. Both candidates have already amassed enough delegates to win their respective nominations. But the turnout could provide more clues about the election on November 5.
Their rematch is expected to mirror the 2020 campaign, though Mr. Trump will run this time under the spectre of 91 felony charges. Their nominations will be confirmed at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July and the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.
Protests against Biden’s Israel policy
Connecticut and Rhode Island allowed voters to vote “uncommitted” in the primary, while Wisconsin offered a similar option of “uninstructed delegation”.
There was an effort in Wisconsin on Tuesday by anti-Biden protesters to encourage people in the Democratic primary to pick the “uninstructed” option in opposition to Biden’s policies on the Israel-Hamas war.
Pressure has been growing on Mr. Biden especially, to push harder for a ceasefire in Gaza, with some States, including Michigan, fostering similar campaigns for residents to submit “uncommitted votes” for the president.
These victories offer insights into base voter enthusiasm for the upcoming 2020 rematch, particularly in Wisconsin, a crucial November battleground.
Mr. Biden and the Democratic National Committee have outpaced Mr. Trump and the Republicans in fundraising. Mr. Biden claimed the largest single-event fundraising record last week when he received $26 million at a star-studded New York event. Trump hopes to bring in $33 million at a Palm Beach, Florida fundraiser.
Meanwhile, CNN reported that Democrats have been growing increasingly anxious about public polls showing Mr. Trump making unprecedented inroads among Black and Hispanic voters. “But there may be reasons for Republicans to feel uneasy about these polls too,” it said, adding that surveys now consistently show Trump leading President Joe Biden nationally and in almost all of the key swing states.