Donald Trump surged closer to a rematch with Joe Biden in November as he trounced Nikki Haley, his final rival for the Republican nomination, on Super Tuesday, winning fourteen states to her one.
The former president, 77, dominated the biggest day of the primary season and left the ex-South Carolina governor’s White House dreams hanging by a thread after a single victory in the Vermont primary.
By 4am Eastern Time, the Republican frontrunner had won 14 states with ease, with Alaska calling their results in the early hours of Wednesday morning as did Utah where Trump defeated Haley by more than 10,000 votes.
His victories in states including Virginia, North Carolina , Tennessee, Oklahoma , Maine , Alabama , Massachusetts , Arkansas , Texas, Colorado , Minnesota and California were called almost immediately after the polls closed.
Meanwhile, a defeated Haley stayed away from the cameras in South Carolina and refused to react to the slew of defeats as speculation continued over whether she would drop out.
‘They call it Super Tuesday for a reason – this is a big win. And they tell me, the pundit, there has never been anything so conclusive. This is an amazing night,’ Trump told his supporters in a speech at Mar-a-Lago.
In a sign of where the contest is headed, Trump focused his attacks on Biden.
‘Our poll numbers are higher than Joe Biden’s. He is the worst president in the history of our country. There is never been anything like what is happening to our country,’ Trump said.
The former president did not mention Haley by name, putting his focus on the upcoming general election.
Shortly after he finished speaking, Vermont’s Republican primary was called for Haley, giving her one win for the night.
President Joe Biden also stormed to Democratic primaries in 15 states, but suffered a shocking defeat in the American Samoa caucus to no-name candidate Jason Palmer.
Donald Trump surged closer to a rematch with Joe Biden in November as he trounced Nikki Haley , his final rival for the Republican nomination, on Super Tuesday, winning thirteen states to her one
The Super Tuesday results cements his absolute control of the Republican Party and sparked growing calls for Haley to exit the race.
Biden attacked Trump in a statement after most of the races were called.
‘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.
Biden racked up wins on the Democratic side as polls closed across the nation. He faces only token opposition for his party’s presidential nomination.
Trump’s series of victories on Tuesday night will make it nearly mathematically impossible for Haley to catch the former president.
Tuesday’s contests will award more than one-third of Republican delegates – and more than 70% of the number needed to secure the nomination.
Trump picked up 90% of the delegates up for grabs on Tuesday night. California and Texas were two of the biggest prizes and they ended up in the former president’s corner.
Nikki Haley will not make public remarks on Super Tuesday
Eric Trump, his wife Lara Trump, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr., Michael Boulos, and Tiffany Trump watch Donald Trump’s remarks at Mar-a-Lago
Haley pledged stay in the race until the Super Tuesday contests but has not made any promises beyond that, and her campaign has not scheduled any public events on Tuesday or beyond.
She is at her home in South Carolina and not scheduled to make public remarks. Trump is expected to address supporters later Tuesday night at Mar-a-Lago.
Biden will be updated on election results throughout the night by his staff, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Both the Biden and Trump camps have been preparing for a rematch even though the earliest either can become his party´s presumptive nominee is March 12 for Trump and March 19 for Biden.
But, after Tuesday, the general election battle will be effectively underway. Both men are ready.
‘We have to beat Biden – he is the worst president in history,’ Trump said Tuesday on Fox & Friends.
‘If we lose this election, you´re going to be back with Donald Trump,’ Biden said on the DeDe in the Morning radio show in North Carolina. ‘The way he talks about, the way he acted, the way he has dealt with the African American community, I think, has been shameful.’
People stand in a line to vote, shortly before the polls close during the Super Tuesday primary election in Edinburg, Texas
A dog waits for its owner to finish voting at the San Francisco City Hall
Voters, however, do not seem enthusiastic about repeating the 2020 election, which Biden won and Trump falsely claimed victory. Polls show a majority of voters wanted an option other than Biden or Trump.
So now each campaign will have to focus on rallying their base and persuading independent voters to come to the polls in November.
And the candidates will hit the trail to make their case to the American people.
On Saturday, Biden and Trump will hold separate campaign events in Georgia, a critical battleground state. They are not expected to interact.
Biden became the first Democratic since Bill Clinton to win Georgia in 2020. Trump was convinced he had won it and now faces federal and state charges on his attempts to overturn results there.