On Tuesday, Mar. 5, the primaries came to close. Super Tuesday acts as the finale to the primaries, determining who will gain the support in both political parties. President Biden has had backing by the DNC to run for reelection, and former President Trump has experienced overwhelming support for his campaign. Both candidates secured themselves as the 2024 presidential candidates on Tuesday.
Nikki Haley, Trump’s main, and final contender for the GOP bid, dropped out of the race on Tuesday. While her campaign is over, she still has not given him her endorsement.
“I wish anyone well who would be America’s president” she said in her speech announcing the end of her campaign. “Our country is too precious to let our differences divide us.” While Haley ceded, she made it a point that her campaign still was able to get across their message; there are many Republicans who do not want another term of Trump. Biden and the former president responded to the end of her in opposite ways.
“Nikki Haley got TROUNCED last night, in record setting fashion,” wrote Trump on the Truth Social media platform in response to her withdrawal. His boasting starkly contrasted with the Biden administration’s extended hand towards Haley supporters. Nonetheless, a recent poll shows 87 percent of Haley supporters choosing Trump over Biden.
On the other hand, Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnel endorsed Trump. While he has denounced him as a leader in the past, McConnel seemingly conceded and gave Trump his support.
“It is abundantly clear that former President Trump has earned the requisite support of Republican voters to be our nominee for President of the United States,” McConnell said on Mar. 6. In the same statement, first reported by the Washington Post, he stated he and Trump accomplished great things during the latter’s presidency, such as tax reform and “a generational change of our federal judiciary.” The previous week McConnel announced he will be stepping down as minority leader in November, as the current state of the Republican party does not align with his political morals or views.
Representative Dean Phillips, a long shot Democratic contender dropped out of the race on Tuesday as well. While Biden had full support to go for reelection, Phillips campaigned on the belief that Biden is not well equipped to serve another term.
“The sad truth is Joe Biden is not well-positioned to win the election,” the Minnesota representative said. He did give his endorsement to President Biden, stating“But today, in light of the stark reality we face, I ask you to join me in mobilizing, energizing, and doing everything you can to help keep a man of decency and integrity in the White House. That’s Joe Biden.” Phillips’ campaign never gained much national attention, as it only began in October. He lost power positions in his party, and around 4 million dollars of his own money. Like Haley, he felt there was a need to challenge the party’s picks for president, and give a voice to voters looking for a younger and more in touch candidate.
Only gaining around 3 percent of primary votes in Michigan, Phillips was beaten out by the uncommitted vote with 13 percent. This form of voting amassed a good amount of traction in democratic states for the primaries. It functions as a warning to party leaders, showing that they will lose a percent of their voting population if they don’t appeal to the people’s demands. The uncommitted vote largely was used to speak out against President Biden’s support of Israel in Gaza. Minnesota ended with a 19 percent uncommitted vote. While Biden hasn’t shown much concern for uncommitted voters, it does put pressure on him to appeal to them. The 2024 election will most likely be another marginal election, so every vote will count.
Photo credit: “White House” by Spokhrel is licensed under (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED)
