The biggest delegate awarding day of the 2024 election has kicked off, as voters cast ballots across the country in states and one territory.
This Super Tuesday is not a nail-biter. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump hold commanding leads in the polls of their parties’ voters.
As a result, Tuesday’s outcomes in the presidential primaries are less about predicting who will be the eventual nominee, and more about gauging general election momentum eight months out from November.
Super Tuesday could also serve as a last stand for the remaining challengers to Biden and Trump.
On the Republican side, attention is focused on former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley who says she will stay in the race as long as she remains “competitive.”
After losing her home-state primary and several of her megadonors, Haley’s momentum could be slowing.
Perhaps even more exciting than the presidential primaries are several competitive down-ballot races with major implications for national politics. Primaries in California’s Senate race and North Carolina’s gubernatorial contest are two that merit special attention.
In California, the battle to fill the late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat is already the most expensive Senate race in the state’s history.
Rep. Adam Schiff is leading the Democratic field in polls, and has so far spent $39 million on his campaign, according to campaign records.
Meanwhile, in North Carolina, a wide pool is vying to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. Republicans hope to turn the governor’s office red this fall in a battleground state that Democrats have struggled to win races in during recent cycles.
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