The primaries and caucuses have shown that a substantial group of Republican-leaning voters remain resistant to the twice-impeached,four-time-indicted former leader.
Among them are the 43 per cent of voters in New Hampshire who voted for Haley,the 40 per cent in South Carolina,the 27 per cent in Michigan,and the 19 per cent in Iowa (when several other GOP candidates,including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis,were still in the race).
He also struggled with university-educated Americans,moderates and independents,including in suburbs or university precincts in critical states such as North Carolina,Michigan,and Virginia.
And exit polls revealed about one in three Republican voters believe Trump would not be fit to be president if convicted of a crime.
These are all the kinds of voters Democrats now hope will turn to Biden as he heads towards the general election in November.
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“I want to be clear:There is a place for them in my campaign,” Biden said after Haley dropped out of the race.
But the primaries and caucuses exposed challenges for the incumbent president,too.
Voters in Super Tuesday states raised concerns about the president’s age,questioned whether he could beat Trump,and admitted that issues such asthe crisis at the US-Mexico border remain liabilities.
What’s more,the coalition Biden needs to win back the White House – young people,black voters,progressives – is fraying.
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This was evident as this masthead travelled to primary races across the US,to talk to voters about the 2024 election.
It was also evident in theMichigan primary race last week,where Arab-Americans and Democrats mounted a grassroots campaign encouraging people to vote “uncommitted” in the Democratic primary race to send a message to the White House.
And it was evident in Minnesota,where a similar campaign took place. With about half of the expected vote counted in that state,about 20 per cent of Democrats had marked their ballots “uncommitted”,according to Edison Research.
Overall,Biden had a good night,picking up all 15 states where he was on the ballot.
His only unexpected loss took place in the territory of American Samoa,where a little-known businessman and long-shot challenger,Jason Palmer,beat him by a handful of votes.
This will have no bearing in November,however,as the territory does not have electoral college votes in the general election.
There,the president believes Americans will swing behind him when faced with the alternative.
”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?” he asked.
Haley had pitched the same question for months and had built a sizeable faction of voters who shared her concerns. Those voters could make a big difference come November.
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