Entrepreneur and Democratic presidential candidate Jason Palmer is getting ready for the caucus in the Northern Mariana Islands after his win over President Biden in American Samoa on Super Tuesday.
Mr. Palmer, who hails from Baltimore, said his “robust presidential campaign against climate change aligns with the urgent need for action as the Northern Mariana Islands grapple with its effects.”
He told KUAM News, an NBC affiliate in Guam, that “for whatever reason the continental United States does not pay enough attention to our Pacific commonwealths and states and I want to make sure — I’m a big believer in inclusion — that I actually practice it in how I conduct this campaign.”
Mr. Palmer, 52, has served in executive and leadership positions in organizations such as Microsoft, Kaplan Education, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and New Markets Venture Partners, an impact investor firm, according to his website.
He told the outlet that while Mr. Biden has done a “fairly good job,” he just doesn’t seem to have a sense of urgency to get things done, which he said could be due to his age or his background.
Mr. Palmer said change needs to come to Washington, but not in the form of former President Donald Trump, “who’s actually going to make everyone hate each other more.”
“I’m a person who believes we can work across party lines, we can be collaborative, we can actually solve our problems together and I want to be the change that I think our country needs,” he said.
Mr. Palmer said he knows he’s a long-shot presidential candidate, but that his background calls for him to “invest in long-shots.”
A “guerrilla marketing strategy” is what he said he’s been using to enhance his campaign, and speaking with the country’s territories is one way he’s doing that.
“I don’t believe any other campaigns have reached out to Northern Mariana or American Samoa or Hawaii or even Guam,” he said. “I think that by focusing on places that are under-appreciated and overlooked and actually understanding your needs and responding to your needs, that’s one part of the strategy.”
Elections in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory, run through March 12.
Mr. Palmer grabbed 56% of the vote and secured four delegates from his March 5 win in American Samoa, while Mr. Biden saw 44% of the vote and grabbed two delegates. It was the president’s first loss in the 2024 primary season.
The long-shot candidate has qualified for the presidential ballot in 16 states and territories, according to a release from the campaign. His platform is based on “people-first conscious capitalism, modernizing our federal government and reigniting the faith of young people and independents who have lost confidence in America’s institutions.”
Mr. Biden also lost the territory in 2020.
American territories do not get to vote in the general election. They can only send delegates to the convention during the primaries.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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