President Joe Biden secured the Democratic nomination for president, while former President Donald Trump clinched his third straight nomination as the GOP standard-bearer on Tuesday after four states and one U.S. territory voted in primaries and caucuses.
Trump clinches GOP nomination; Biden wins Washington primary
Update 11:11 p.m. EDT March 12: Former President Donald Trump won the Washington State primary on Tuesday, securing enough delegates to earn the GOP nomination for the third straight time, The Associated Press projected. There were 43 delegates at stake in the state.
On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden also was a winner. There were 92 delegates to be allocated. Biden had clinched the nomination earlier Tuesday.
-- Bob D’Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Trump wins Mississippi’s GOP primary
Update 8:12 p.m. EDT March 12: Former President Donald Trump moved closer to the Republican nomination for president after winning the Mississippi primary on Tuesday, The Associated Press projected. There were 40 delegates at stake in the state.
-- Bob D’Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Biden wins Mississippi primary
Update 8:03 p.m. EDT March 12: President Joe Biden won the Mississippi primary on Tuesday, The Associated Press projected. There were 35 delegates at stake.
-- Bob D’Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Biden wins in Georgia, clinches nomination
Update 7:13 p.m. EDT March 12: President Joe Biden won the Georgia primary on Tuesday, clinching the Democratic nomination, The Associated Press reported. There were 108 delegates at stake in the Peach State. Biden began the day with 1,868 delegates and needed 1,968 to secure the nomination.
On the Republican side, former President Donald Trump won the Georgia primary, according to the AP. That moved him closer to his third straight nomination as the GOP’s standard-bearer.
-- Bob D’Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Original report: Georgia, Mississippi and Washington are holding both Republican and Democratic contests, while Hawaii is holding its GOP caucus and the Northern Mariana Islands will be picking Democratic delegates. Democrats who live abroad will also be casting votes Tuesday.
Trump, with 1,078 delegates, needs 137 of the 161 GOP delegates to be awarded Tuesday to reach the 1,215 delegates needed to secure the Republican nomination.
Biden, with 1,872 delegates, needs 96 more to reach the 1,968 delegates needed for the Democratic nomination.
Democrats will be awarding 241 delegates on Tuesday. Democrats living abroad have been casting votes since March 5 for another 13 delegates. Those votes must be counted by Sunday.
Trump’s path to the White House became easier last week after former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley suspended her campaign. Haley’s announcement came a day after she won only one primary -- in Vermont -- out of the 15 states that held Republican primaries on Super Tuesday.
Losing 14 of 15 races on the day when more than 800 GOP delegates were awarded made it nearly impossible for Haley to stop Trump from securing the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Biden’s Democratic two main opponents -- Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson -- suspended their campaigns though Williamson “unsuspended” her campaign in late February.
While both Trump and Biden will likely reach the number of delegates to secure the nomination this week or, at the latest, next week, they still must be formally nominated at their party’s conventions.
The Republican National Convention will be held in Milwaukee, from July 15 to July 18. The Democratic National Convention will be in Chicago from Aug. 19 to Aug. 22.
The General Election is set for Nov. 5.
Here’s a look at Tuesday’s primaries:
Georgia:
- Democratic delegate count: 108
- Republican delegate count: 59
- Polls close at 7 p.m. EDT
Mississippi:
- Democratic delegate count: 35
- Republican delegate count: 40
- Polls close at 7 p.m. EDT
Washington:
- Democratic delegate count: 92
- Republican delegate count: 43
- Polls close at 11 p.m. EDT
Hawaii:
- Republican delegate count: 19
- In-person voting at the Republican caucuses ends at 2 a.m. EDT Wednesday (8 p.m. in Hawaii)
Northern Mariana Islands
- Democratic delegate count: 11
- Voting began on March 5
Democrats living abroad
- Democratic delegate count: 13
- Voting began on March 5