SUPER TUESDAY: WHAT TO WATCH
Super Tuesday, the biggest primary day of the political year, is here.
Today, presidential primary voters across 15 states and one U.S. territory—including Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia, and the territory of American Samoa—will sound off on their preferred presidential candidates.
Currently, former President Donald Trump is viewed as the presumptive nominee by most after a series of double-digit wins in contests held so far, with challenger Nikki Haley failing to gain ground.
All eyes will be on whether Haley drops out after tonight, given that she has only vowed to stay on up until March 5.
With nearly 900 delegates of the 1,215 needed to become the nominee up for grabs, polls show that Trump is well-positioned to come close to locking down his party’s nomination tonight.
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With the Republican House majority hanging by a thread, there are dozens of key congressional races this year that could upset the balance of power in Washington, several of which will hold their primaries on Super Tuesday.
California, especially, will be crucial to who holds the House next year. Democrats are targeting seven Republican-held seats in the state for potential gains. Republicans, on the other hand, are homing in on the seats of Democratic Reps. Josh Harder and Mike Levin, as well as the open seat of Democratic Rep. Katie Porter, who is running for Senate.
Porter will also be facing off against Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and former Dodgers all-stay player Steve Garvey, a Republican, who are also vying to replace the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).
Another key state is Texas, where Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales will need to receive a majority of the votes to fend off multiple primary challengers and avoid a runoff. Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, fresh off her December loss in the Houston mayoral race, faces a tough challenge from former Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards.
North Carolina’s elections later this year could also shift the balance of power in Washington, as five congressmen in the state have chosen not to seek reelection this year—leading both parties to hope for flips. North Carolinians will also vote for the Republican and Democratic nominees for governor.
And while he’s seen as a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination, President Joe Biden will also face a test on Super Tuesday as activists in Minnesota have called on Democrats to vote “uncommitted” in protest of Biden’s attitude toward the war in Gaza.
Iowa Democrats will also learn the results of their unprecedented vote-by-mail caucus.
Results are expected to arrive starting at 7 p.m. ET tonight. Here’s a breakdown of the schedule:
- 6 p.m. ET: Democratic results expected in Iowa.
- 7 p.m. ET: Polls close in Vermont and Virginia. Republican caucuses convene in Alaska.
- 7:30 p.m. ET: Polls close in North Carolina.
- 8 p.m. ET: Polls close in Alabama, Maine, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Most polls close in Texas.
- 8:30 p.m. ET: Polls close in Arkansas.
- 9 p.m. ET: Polls close in Colorado and Minnesota. Last polls close in Texas. Republican caucuses convene in Utah.
- 11 p.m. ET Polls close in California.
- 12 a.m. ET Polls close in Alaska.
TRUMP WINS AT SCOTUS
A unanimous judgment by the Supreme Court overturned a Colorado court’s ruling that Trump was disqualified from appearing on the state’s ballot. Yesterday’s decision is likely a relief for Trump’s campaign, which is already wrestling with multiple court cases ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett and the three liberal justices issued concurring opinions in which they agreed that states lacked authority to disqualify federal candidates but thought their colleagues went too far with other aspects of the opinion.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson indicated that federal courts should be able to rule on the issue and accused their colleagues of attempting “to insulate all alleged insurrectionists from future challenges to their holding federal office.”
State vs. federal power was the main theme of the opinion, a concern that tracked with the overall direction of oral argument in February. The per curiam, or unsigned opinion, argued that Section 5 of the 14th Amendment gave enforcement power to Congress.
A messy patchwork of state ballot disqualifications seems unlikely or impossible after the March 4 decision.
Reserving the issue for Congress bypassed the question of whether Trump was the type of “officer” who could be disqualified under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. It laid out somewhat broad guidelines for future legislation but it’s unclear how Congress will act, if at all before the 2025 inauguration.
Democrats could create controversy by attempting to pass legislation disqualifying Trump or interfering with the certification of election results. Another “civil war” would result from the first avenue, Public Interest Legal Foundation President J. Christian Adams told The Epoch Times.
“Turn the national temperature down” was Justice Barrett’s advice in her concurring opinion. Apparently displeased with aspects of the per curiam opinion, she said “this is not the time to amplify disagreement with stridency.”
–Sam Dorman
WHAT’S HAPPENING
- Trump will deliver a Super Tuesday speech from Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
- The first results on Super Tuesday will arrive from Iowa at 6 p.m. ET. The polls will close in California at 11 p.m. ET and in Alaska at midnight ET.
