Former President Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, picking up enough delegates by winning Washington’s primary to clinch the GOP nomination.
Trump’s victory comes hours after President Joe Biden became the presumptive Democratic nominee.
That means 2024 is officially the long-awaited 2020 rematch between Trump and Biden, with the official nominating conventions taking place this summer.
Democrats in the Northern Mariana Islands went to the polls on Tuesday, giving Biden an early victory.
The results in Georgia – a quick victory for Biden and Trump in their respective primaries – put Biden over the necessary 1,968 delegates to become his party’s official nominee.
Former President Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, picking up enough delegates by winning Washington’s primary to clinch the GOP nomination at this summer’s convention
President Joe Biden accepted the Democratic nomination and became his party’s presumptive nominee earlier Tuesday night after the results were counted in Georgia
Mississippi was also quickly called for both Biden and Trump, but Trump needed a few more delegates from Washington state before CNN predicted he was officially the presumptive Republican nominee.
Trump needed 1,215 delegates.
The Republicans in Hawaii were also in a meeting on Tuesday.
Last week, Trump dominated the so-called Super Tuesday races, getting rid of his last rival, former UN Amb. Nikki Haley.
Haley dropped out of the presidential race on Wednesday, but did not endorse Trump on his way out.
Still, a significant amount of Republican voters in Georgia came out Tuesday and supported Haley.
With about 92 percent of the votes counted, about 13.3 percent had chosen Haley.
Biden practically ran the map on Super Tuesday said for one exception — he lost the American Samoa caucus to Baltimore-based entrepreneur Jason Palmer, who wasn’t even considered a mainstream Democratic hopeful before his victory.
Since then, Palmer has said he will continue his challenge, while Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, who also ran in the Democratic primary against Biden, dropped out on Wednesday.
Long-shot Democratic hopeful Jason Palmer speaks last Tuesday after surprising the world by winning the American Samoa caucus and putting his name on the map
Voters line up to cast their ballots Tuesday in Mississippi’s Democratic and Republican presidential primaries
Self-help guru Marianne Williamson dropped out of the race in February, but relaunched her campaign earlier this month and remains on the Democratic ballot
Self-help guru and bestselling author Marianne Williamson, who dropped out of the race in February after a poor showing in Nevada, restarted her presidential campaign earlier this month after outperforming Phillips in Michigan.
She continues to fight for the Democratic nomination.
Williamson sent out a note to supporters when CNN predicted that Biden would be the Democratic nominee.
“Given the political reality, President Biden will probably have the nomination sewn up in terms of the delegate count very soon. But it doesn’t matter. We’re having the conversation without which the Democrats won’t win in 2024. And that’s why we have to continue,’ Williamson wrote.
Both Trump and Biden campaigned in Georgia over the weekend ahead of the primary, but also to set the table for a runoff in the state.
Biden beat Trump in Georgia in 2020 — a shocking result in a state that had traditionally been red.
The Biden-Harris campaign issued a statement Tuesday marking Biden’s nomination victory.
“Four years ago I ran for president because I believed we were in a battle for the soul of this nation,” the president said. “Because of the American people, we won that fight, and now I am honored that the broad coalition of voters representing the rich diversity of the Democratic Party across the country have placed their faith in me once again must lead our party – and our country – at a moment when the threat posed by Trump is greater than ever.’
Biden said the country is facing a “sober reality” as Trump moved closer to winning the Republican nomination again.
“Freedom and democracy are at risk here at home in a way they haven’t been since the Civil War,” the president said.
‘Donald Trump is running a campaign of anger, revenge and retribution that threatens the very idea of America. He glorifies dictators and promises to become one himself on day one. He seeks to bury the truth about January 6 by promising to pardon the rebels who put a dagger in the throat of American democracy,’ Biden warned.
The president also pointed to comments Trump made in an interview with CNBC on Monday where he proposed cuts to Medicare and Social Security were on the table.
‘He messes up for the economy to crash, pushed tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy and plans to ban abortion nationwide,’ Biden said.
Voters, the president said, ‘have a choice to make about the future of this country.’
‘Should we stand up and defend our democracy or let others tear it down? Will we restore the right to choose and protect our freedoms or let extremists take them away?’ Biden asked. ‘Will we finally make the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes – or will we allow corporate greed to run wild on the backs of the middle class?’
“I believe the American people will choose to keep us moving into the future,” Biden said. ‘With every crisis, America has always come out stronger and more united on the other side.’
“This November will be no different — and I think we will do it together,” the president added.