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President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump racked up wins as states across the country held Super Tuesday elections, moving them closer to a historic rematch despite a lack of enthusiasm from many voters.
The results could ramp up pressure on Nikki Haley, Trump's last major rival, to leave the race. Haley took home just one win outright, notching a victory in Vermont.
Super Tuesday elections were held in 16 states and one territory — from Alaska and California to Vermont and Virginia.
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While much of the focus is on the presidential race, there were also important down-ballot contests. California voters, for example, will choose candidates who will compete to fill the Senate seat long held by Dianne Feinstein.
Here is the latest news on Super Tuesday:
Trump and Biden will notch biggest prizes of the night in Texas and California
U.S. & World
NBC News is projecting Donald Trump and Joe Biden will win their respective primaries in both Texas and California, the two biggest delegate prizes of the night.
Donald Trump has now secured 911 delegates, with 1,215 delegates needed to secure the GOP nomination, according to NBC News.
Nikki Haley picks up first win of the night in Vermont
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley picked up a win in Vermont, taking all nine delegates by a narrow margin over Donald Trump.
Haley still trails Trump by a wide margin.
Joe Biden loses to little-known Jason Palmer in tiny American Samoa
Jason Palmer defeated President Joe Biden in American Samoa, a tiny U.S. territory in the South Pacific.
According to the local Democratic Party, Palmer won 51 votes and Biden won 40. There were only six delegates up for grabs there in a contest that requires nearly 2,000, but it’s still a notable setback for an incumbent president. Palmer is a Baltimore-based investor.
This isn’t the first time that American Samoa has turned up surprising results in a primary. During the 2020 Democratic race, it was the only contest won by billionaire Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor.
Palmer is a Maryland-based entrepreneur with an MBA from Harvard and an extensive resume in corporate America, according to his LinkedIn profile. He worked for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as a deputy director for their Post Secondary Program, according to NBC News.
Biden, Trump pick up wins in Minnesota
NBC News projects that Joe Biden has won the Minnesota Democratic primary, with Donald Trump projected to pick up that state's Republican primary. For Biden, it was a win over Dean Phillips in Phillips' home state.
Karl Rove: Trump team 'ought to be concerned' about Republican unity
Republican strategist Karl Rove said on Fox News that it was a strong night for Trump but also warned that his campaign "ought to be concerned about unifying the Republican party," NBC News reported.
Holding a dry-erase board, Rove highlighted how Haley had drawn more than 20% of the vote in many states including Virginia, Massachusetts, Maine and others.
"There's still some work to be done to unify the Republican party, and that's going to depend a lot on his tone tonight and whether or not he stops doing things like calling her bird-brained and threatening that if you give money to her campaign you're going to be permanently banned," Rove said.
Dean Phillips congratulates 'Uncommitted'
Turnout was light on Super Tuesday in Minnesota, where President Joe Biden was competing for delegates in challenger Dean Phillips' home state and former President Donald Trump faced Nikki Haley for the state's Republican convention votes.
Minnesota has 75 Democratic and 39 Republican national convention delegates. But as one of the smaller of 16 states and one territory holding Super Tuesday primaries, Minnesota received little attention — even from Phillips, who represents a congressional district in the Minneapolis suburbs. Haley was the only candidate to put in an in-person campaign appearance.
Even before Minnesota was called by NBC News, Phillips took to X to acknowledge a night of losses.
No cyber threats to elections on Super Tuesday
The first major voting date on this year’s primary calendar passed without major issues Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.
There were no specific, credible threats or deliberate nefarious activities as states across the country held Super Tuesday elections, said a senior official for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency who insisted on anonymity to discuss the elections.
The official said they are aware of social media outages Tuesday that caused widespread login issues for a few hours across Meta’s Facebook, Instagram, Threads and Messenger platforms, but they are not aware of any election nexus.
Joe Biden wins Texas and Colorado
NBC News projects that Joe Biden has won the Democratic primaries in Texas and Colorado.
Donald Trump wins Texas, Massachusetts and Colorado
NBC News projects that Donald Trump has won the Republican primaries in Texas, Massachusetts and Colorado.
North Carolina’s race for governor will have clear contrasts
Voters picked Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein and Republican Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson to succeed the term-limited Gov. Roy Cooper. Their general election campaigns will show clear contrasts, the Associated Press reported.
Stein would be the state’s first Jewish governor. The Harvard University-educated lawyer has an established focus on consumer rights.
Robinson is a former factory worker. As a city council member, he gave a viral speech in 2018 that catapulted him into public recognition and earned him an endorsement from former President Donald Trump. Already North Carolina’s first Black lieutenant governor, Robinson would also be the state’s first Black governor.
Biden, Trump pick up wins in Alabama
NBC News projects that Joe Biden has won the Alabama Democratic primary, with Donald Trump projected to pick up that state's Republican primary.
Donald Trump wins Maine Republican primary
NBC News projects that Donald Trump has won the Maine Republican primary, securing 20 delegates.
Vermont GOP presidential race now too close to call
The NBC News Decision Desk is now projecting the Vermont GOP presidential primary is "too close to call," the first state of the night to earn that designation, NBC News reported.
Vermont has always been seen as one of the few states that Haley could win outright tonight. She's backed by Republican Gov. Phil Scott, and the open primary in a deep-blue state plays to her strength with independents and Democratic voters who decided to vote in the GOP contest.
As of 8:38 p.m. ET, both candidates are tied at 48% with about a third of the expected vote in.
Voters misled about newly created Alabama congressional district ahead of casting ballots
Efforts to boost Black representation in Alabama were marred on Tuesday when more than 6,000 voters in the new 2nd Congressional District received postcards with incorrect voting information, the Associated Press reported.
The postcards misidentified the voters’ district because of a “software glitch,” according to a county official. The official said anyone was still allowed to cast ballots for the right candidates when they went to their precincts.
Advocates expressed concern that the error could have discouraged turnout in the first election with new district maps.
Biden, Trump pick up wins in Arkansas
NBC News projects that Joe Biden has won the Arkansas Democratic primary, with Donald Trump projected to pick up that state's Republican primary.
Joe Biden picks up wins in Massachusetts, Maine
NBC News projects that Joe Biden has won the Massachusetts and Maine Democratic primaries.
Biden, Trump pick up wins in Tennessee
NBC News projects that Joe Biden has won the Tennessee Democratic primary, with Donald Trump projected to pick up that state's Republican primary.
Biden, Trump pick up wins in Oklahoma
NBC News projects that Joe Biden has won the Oklahoma Democratic primary, with Donald Trump projected to pick up that state's Republican primary.
Police in Michigan reportedly investigating fake cameras hung outside voting site
Police in a town outside Detroit said they were investigating fake cameras hung outside a ballot drop box, NBC News reported.
Plymouth Township Police Chief James Knittel told local media that it was investigating the situation. The township's Facebook page posted asking for information, and the local supervisor told local media that the cameras were a "clear attempt at voter intimidation."
Ballot drop boxes have been a focus of many baseless election fraud theories.
Why is America voting on a Tuesday?
Ever had difficulty making it to the polls to vote? You may have questioned at the time why Election Day is held on a Tuesday.
The fact that Election Day in the United States is not held on a weekend, or considered a federal holiday that would give more voters the day off work, is one of the leading reasons why the America's voter participation numbers are among the world's worst for developed countries.
The reason that Election Day is held on a Tuesday dates back to 1845, when voters were still using a horse-and-buggy to travel to their local polling place. Times have changed, but the weekday to vote has not.
Read the full story on how Tuesday elections began here.
Haley has no events planned for today
The former U.N. ambassador has pegged her campaign to the biggest day of the primary season, crossing the country over the last several days to visit Super Tuesday states. But she is not holding any public events tonight, the Associated Press reported. And she has no future campaign rallies listed on her website.
Her campaign says she’s spending election night in the Charleston, South Carolina, area and watching results come in with her staff. Says the campaign: “The mood is jubilant.”
What the Biden campaign is watching for tonight
The Biden campaign is viewing tonight as “rematch mode, activated,” as one campaign adviser put it, NBC News reported.
Biden aides will try to paint the “choice” as a contrast of values, previewing an expected theme of the president's State of the Union address on Thursday.
The campaign is tracking a possible "uncommitted" protest vote, though they do not expect anything as resounding as Michigan's 100,000 ballots cast for "uncommitted." One official said they believed that Michigan was most likely the “high water mark” for the "uncommitted" effort, but the campaign is still keeping an eye on Minnesota, Massachusetts and Washington state.
Biden aides were encouraged by the high turnout overall in Michigan, despite the “uncommitted” votes. They argue that there’s an underreported wave of enthusiasm for the president and Democrats overall, which they believe will be similarly demonstrated tonight in certain places where they expect high turnout.
Biden, Trump score wins in North Carolina
NBC News projects that Joe Biden has won the North Carolina Democratic primary, with Donald Trump winning that state's Republican primary.
Joe Biden wins Vermont Democratic primary
NBC News projects that Joe Biden has won the Vermont Democratic primary, securing all of the state's 10 delegates.
Donald Trump wins Virginia Republican primary
NBC News projects that Donald Trump has won the Virginia Republican primary.
Joe Biden wins Virginia Democratic primary
NBC News projects that Joe Biden has won the Virginia Democratic primary.
Mistake leads to emergency robocalls in North Carolina county to correct misleading information
A North Carolina county launched emergency robocalls to correct some false election information that had been broadcast by a local radio station, NBC News reported.
Patrick Gannon, public information director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, said in a statement that it appeared to have been an honest mistake by the radio station.
"After election officials learned of the incorrect information being shared on the radio in Yancey County, the county board of elections immediately called the radio station to correct the information," Gannon said. "Then, the county’s emergency management office used its public safety mass messaging system, called Rave, to issue correct information within an estimated 30 minutes of when the incorrect information was heard on the radio."
Gannon noted that accurate information was also posted on county government websites and social media platforms.
So far on Tuesday, there have been scatter reports of issues at polling places, though nothing out of what is considered ordinary for a major election day.
Colorado Secretary of State weighs in on the Supreme Court's Trump ballot ruling
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold sat down with NBC News this afternoon to discuss the Supreme Court’s decision to keep Trump on the ballot as well as turnout in this year’s primary election.
Griswold said she’s glad the justices handed down the ruling ahead of Super Tuesday, but she’s worried that a gridlocked Congress might have trouble enforcing the Constitution’s insurrection clause going forward.
“One of my concerns about this case is logistically how it plays out. This case isn’t only about precedent, it’s about all candidates for federal office. The Supreme Court said states do not have the authority to enforce Section 3 of the 14th amendment to bar oath-breaking insurrectionists from our ballots ourselves, that Congress has that authority,” Griswold said.
She added, "But the current Congress is nearly nonfunctioning, so I do not believe that this Congress will take any action, which in logistical terms means that any candidate for federal office that is an oath-breaking insurrectionist will be able to be on the ballot without consideration or application of the Constitution.”
California voters express confusion over fringe Democratic candidate President R. Boddie
Voters in the California Democratic Primary took to social media to express their confusion over the presence of candidate "President R. Boddie" on the presidential primary ballot above Biden, who is listed without his title, NBC News reported. Some expressed concern that this could cause older voters or those with poor vision to confuse the two candidates.
Boddie, a life coach from Atlanta, was also on the ballot this year in New Hampshire where he received 136 votes in a contest where Biden was not on the ballot. He also ran to be governor of Georgia in 2022.
Biden allies tout grassroots fundraising
The president's campaign said that "Team Biden-Harris" — the campaign’s shorthand for itself and affiliated groups — broke its previous "grassroots" fundraising record in February.
NBC News cannot independently verify the assertion because February FEC filings are not due until later this month.
Grassroots fundraising typically refers to unitemized donations, or donations from people who have given a total of under $200.
Biden campaign officials argued that they surpassed expectations because of primary contests and Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report, which was a main driver for fundraising. First Lady Jill Biden’s note was particularly lucrative, the campaign said.
"While Trump spends his limited funds on various other… issues, President Biden’s campaign is using this grassroots momentum to build a cutting-edge and winning campaign for this November," said Deputy Campaign Manager Rob Flaherty in a statement.
Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice primary gains increased attention after IVF ruling
One of the most-watched races in Alabama on Tuesday is a primary for state Supreme Court chief justice, NBC News reported.
The race has taken on increased importance amid the national uproar over the court’s recent ruling equating frozen embryos with children. That ruling prompted several IVF clinics in the state to halt their services and sparked broader concerns that anti-abortion lawmakers could go after the medical procedure elsewhere.
The current chief justice, Tom Parker, wrote the majority decision, which drew heavily on theology, even citing the book of Genesis. In the decision he wrote that Alabama had adopted a “theologically based view of the sanctity of life” and that “life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God.”
In Alabama, state Supreme Court Justices are elected to the bench in partisan races. Parker is barred from running again because he is older than the state’s mandatory retirement age for state Supreme Court justices, which is 70.
Current Alabama Supreme Court Justice Sarah Stewart and Bryan Taylor, a former Republican state Senator, are running for the Republican nomination to replace Parker as chief justice. The winner of the election will compete against Democrat Greg Griffin, a Montgomery County circuit judge.
Votes for Trump in Maine will be counted
Former President Donald Trump is back in the running in Maine’s Republican presidential primary.
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows determined in December that Trump was disqualified from appearing on the ballot after three Maine voters challenged his candidacy. They had argued he was barred from running for president because he had violated the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment.
But the decision was on hold while the Supreme Court heard a similar case from Colorado.
After the Supreme Court ruled in the Colorado case on Monday that states do not have the ability to bar Trump or other federal candidates under the clause, Bellows reversed herself.
Votes cast for Trump today will be counted, she wrote.
An Illinois judge also had ruled that Trump’s name should be removed, but with the caveat that the decision would be put on hold if the Supreme Court’s ruling differed. Illinois’ Republican primary will be held on March 19.
Biden wins Iowa Democratic caucus
NBC News projects that Joe Biden has won the Iowa Democratic caucus, securing all of the state's 40 delegates.
Massachusetts protest vote
A week after President Joe Biden faced a protest vote in Michigan over his handling of the war in Gaza, grass-roots organizers are hoping to send the same message of disapproval in the Massachusetts primary.
A group called Vote Ceasefire is urging Democrats to write in “ceasefire” or “no preference” on their ballots today.
"We have the opportunity to use the Democratic structure, the power of the voting booth to send a message to Biden and the old guard of the Democratic Party that we demand a ceasefire," a Vote Ceasefire organizer Merrie Najimy told NBC10 Boston.
Democratic ballots in Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina and Tennessee also allow for uncommitted votes. Iowa is announcing the results of its caucus today; the others are holding their Democratic primaries.
In Michigan, a key swing state that held its primary on Feb. 27, uncommitted votes made up 13% of the total. Biden won with 81% of the vote. In 2020, Biden beat Trump in the state by only 154,000 votes.
NBC News noted that 13% was not far from the norm. In 2012, the year President Barack Obama ran for re-election, the uncommitted vote was at 11%.
Listen to Michigan, the organizer of the protest vote, says on its website that it rejects Biden’s funding of “war and genocide in Gaza.”
The CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, Jeremy Burton, told NBC10 Boston, “The Biden administration is rightly concerned with the long-term security of the State of Israel.”
NASA astronauts perform civic duty
Aboard the International Space Station, two NASA astronauts performed their civic duty.
Astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara confirmed they had cast their celestial ballots in posts on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Being in space didn’t stop (O’Hara) and I from voting. Go vote today!” Moghbeli wrote.
According to NASA’s website, after an astronaut fills out an electronic absentee ballot aboard the space station, the encrypted document goes through a tracking and data relay satellite to a ground antenna at the White Sands Complex in New Mexico.
From there, the ballot is sent to the Mission Control Center in Houston and forwarded to the county clerk’s office.
Everything to know about Super Tuesday
More than one-third of the total delegates available in both the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries will be awarded on Super Tuesday.
On the Republican side, 854 of 2,429 will be at stake. Democrats will award 1,420 delegates.
Trump has so far earned 247 delegates and needs 968 more to hit his so-called “magic number” of 1,215.
For Biden, he currently has 206 delegates and needs 1,762 to hit his magic number of 1,968.
Click here to find out everything you need to know about Super Tuesday.
'Happy warriors'
A Nikki Haley campaign aide calls themselves “a bunch of happy warriors today,” NBC News reported. As volunteers and staff participate in GOTV efforts, HQ staff are “playing music and having fun.”
Songs of choice are almost too on the nose, per this official, including "Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves” and "Started From the Bottom."
US Senate race in California
California has to elect a United States senator to fill the seat Dianne Feinstein held for more than 30 years.
When she died last September, she left some awfully big shoes to fill, and no shortage of candidates hoping to fill them.
The first step in that process comes on Tuesday, with what's sometimes called a "jungle primary:" a primary election in which the two candidates with the most votes, regardless of their party affiliation, advance to a runoff election in November. That means there's a chance we could have a runoff with two candidates from the same party.
Click here to find out more about the Senate race.
For Iowa Democrats, a break from tradition
For Democrats in Iowa, this year's Super Tuesday is a break from five decades of tradition in how the state gets its say in helping determine the presidential nominee.
For 2024, the state party had to reapproach its caucuses. They’re the one-night spectacle in which community members publicly signal their support for a candidate.
This year, Iowa Democrats have quietly filled in the bubble for President Joe Biden or one of his long-shot competitors and slipped the forms into the mailbox. More than 19,000 ballots were requested, according to the party, and roughly 13,000 had been received as of Tuesday morning.
National Democrats reshuffled the primary calendar to prioritize more diverse states than Iowa. The change pushed Iowa from its leadoff position and back to Super Tuesday.
