Super Tuesday is over and so is the primary season. Although some states have not voted yet and a few others have not finished counting, the parties’ nominees are now locked in. They were really locked in several weeks ago. Biden had no serious competition and Trump vanquished his two main rivals in the early voting.

Trump’s chief competitors were Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and Trump’s UN ambassador. The former president effectively clinched the nomination when he beat both decisively on their most favourable terrain: DeSantis in Iowa and Haley in New Hampshire and her home state. Haley stayed in the race but, despite winning DC and Vermont, had no path to victory.

Biden’s challenges are hard to solve: the economy, immigration and his own physical frailty

Why did Trump win the nomination? Because he transformed his party’s base during his first run for president and then reassured that base he was able to run aggressively one more time. DeSantis found there was no room to Trump’s right on social issues, or at least not enough to persuade primary voters. Haley found the centrist, internationalist wing was too small. She still presents a challenge to Trump, even if, as she says, she won’t run as an independent in the November election. The challenge is that her voters form a significant portion of the Republican electorate, roughly a third, and many of them are hesitant to vote for Trump in the general election. He needs to bring most of them back into the fold to win the White House. One open question is whether Haley herself will help him.

President Biden had a much easier time in the primaries, winning without serious competition. He even won New Hampshire as a write-in – no easy feat. His name wasn’t on the state’s ballot to avoid offending South Carolina, which Democrats had made their first primary.

QOSHE - The race for the White House is about to get dirty - Charles Lipson
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The race for the White House is about to get dirty

5 12
06.03.2024

Super Tuesday is over and so is the primary season. Although some states have not voted yet and a few others have not finished counting, the parties’ nominees are now locked in. They were really locked in several weeks ago. Biden had no serious competition and Trump vanquished his two main rivals in the early voting.

Trump’s chief competitors were Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and Trump’s UN ambassador. The former........

© The Spectator


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