Former President Donald Trump was on track to dominate the 15-state Republican primaries on Super Tuesday, sweeping up hundreds of delegates as he advanced toward an all-but-assured rematch against President Biden in November.
Results and projections showed Mr. Trump, 77, winning the day in a nearly complete sweep of states over former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, 52, his sole remaining Republican opponent. As of Tuesday, she appeared to have no path to surpass the former president.
Doubts among Democrats about Mr. Biden’s mental and physical fitness and overall low job approval ratings showed in the Democratic primary results for the 81-year-old president.
Mr. Trump, in a victory speech, didn’t mention Ms. Haley at all and instead took aim at Mr. Biden, lamenting the policies he said have hurt the economy, border security and national security and promising to turn it all around when he wins in November.
He called his Super Tuesday win “a big one” and set his sights on beating Mr. Biden in November.
“Nov. 5 is going to go down as the single most important day in the history of our country,” Mr. Trump said.
In a statement, Mr. Biden warned that his likely GOP opponent would reverse the progress made since Mr. Trump was ejected from the White House.
“Tonight’s results leave the American people with a clear choice: Are we going to keep moving forward or will we allow Donald Trump to drag us backwards into the chaos, division, and darkness that defined his term in office?” the president said. “He is determined to destroy our democracy, rip away fundamental freedoms like the ability for women to make their own health care decisions, and pass another round of billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy — and he’ll do or say anything to put himself in power.”
Mr. Biden did not even sweep the entire contest. He lost the primary in American Samoa outright to an entrepreneur and investor, Jason Palmer.
Although he will continue in the primaries nearly entirely undefeated, facing only weak competition from Democrats Marianne Williamson and Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, other results were even more troubling for Mr. Biden’s prospects in November.
In North Carolina, more than 61,000 Democratic primary voters, or more than 12%, voted “no preference.” In Virginia, 8% of Democratic primary voters picked Ms. Williamson. In Massachusetts, typically a stronghold for Mr. Biden, more than 15% of voters picked either Ms. Williamson, Mr. Phillips or “no preference.” In the Colorado Democratic primary, 7% of voters picked a non-committed delegate. In Minnesota, 15% of Democratic voters selected “non-committed.”
Mr. Trump sought a “record-setting” win to show he will be tough for Mr. Biden to beat in November.
By early evening, Trump had easily trounced Ms. Haley in 10 Super Tuesday states, including Virginia, one of several states with open primaries where she hoped to be competitive. Mr. Trump scored wins in Texas, North Carolina, Colorado, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Maine, Massachusetts, Arkansas, Minnesota and Alabama.
Ms. Haley was able to defeat Mr. Trump in Vermont, where 17 delegates were up for grabs, securing 50% of the vote in the open-primary state to Mr. Trump’s 46%.
Despite Ms. Haley winning one of the 15 Super Tuesday states, Mr. Trump was poised to end the day fewer than 200 delegates away from securing his third Republican nomination. Polling trends also show that he is on track to beat a weakening Mr. Biden in November as voters sour on the president nationally and in key swing states.
Mr. Trump planned a Super Tuesday victory speech at a festive gathering in his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, while Ms. Haley hunkered down with campaign staff at her home in South Carolina, where she served as governor from 2011 until 2017.
She did not plan to address supporters on Tuesday. Campaign aides described the mood as “jubilant.”
Early exit polls showed most Republican voters continue to back Mr. Trump even as he faces possible convictions on 91 criminal charges in four county, state and federal cases.
Among Virginia voters, 53% believed Mr. Trump is fit to be president even if convicted of a crime, while 40% said he would not be fit. Among North Carolina Republican voters, 64% would back Mr. Trump, even if convicted, and 32% said they would not.
Ms. Haley has touted herself as the Republican candidate who is more likely to beat Mr. Biden, in part because of Mr. Trump’s legal entanglements.
A CBS poll taken Feb. 28 to March 1 found Ms. Haley beating Mr. Biden by nine points among likely voters. In the same poll, Mr. Trump beat Mr. Biden by 4 points.
Ms. Haley’s efforts to win the party nomination are quickly falling out of reach.
Super Tuesday’s contests put 884 delegates up for grabs, and Mr. Trump was set to win the vast majority.
He entered Tuesday’s contests with 273 delegates after winning the North Dakota Republican Caucus on Monday and picking up all 29 delegates.
Mr. Trump could secure the 1,215 delegates to win the nomination as soon as March 12, when Georgia, Mississippi and Washington hold Republican primaries and Hawaii holds caucuses.
If Mr. Trump comes up a few delegates short next week, he’ll clinch it on March 19, when five states hold primaries that will award 350 delegates combined, and like every other contest, Mr. Trump is set to dominate.
With virtually no path to victory, Ms. Haley has not signaled plans to drop out of the race yet. She has set up a “leadership team” of state and local Republican leaders in Georgia, where 59 delegates are up for grabs next week.
Ms. Haley slowed Mr. Trump’s advance to the nomination earlier this week with her first primary victory in the District of Columbia, where she picked up 19 delegates.
Much of her support appears to come from Never-Trump Republicans and Democrats.
Exit polls in Virginia showed 60% of those who voted for Haley did so as a vote against Mr. Trump rather than a vote in favor of her.
Among Virginia Republican voters, Mr. Biden scored a 1% approval rating. Among Haley voters, Mr. Biden’s approval rating was 48%.
Future wins look unlikely for Ms. Haley, and her decision to remain in the race has raised questions about whether she’s preparing for a third-party candidacy, perhaps with the organization No Labels, which is fighting for ballot access in all 50 states.
Her continued candidacy and attacks on Mr. Trump have drawn criticism from others in the party who say she’s sabotaging Mr. Trump and helping Mr. Biden by remaining in the race.
Ms. Haley’s campaign website lists no future campaign events.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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