President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are the headline contenders in Tuesday’s ballot for Georgia’s presidential preference primary.
Mississippi, Washington state, and Hawaii are also conducting their primaries on March 12. The early voting period for Georgia’s primary started on Monday, February 19, 2024, and concluded this past Friday.
According to CBS News, Trump currently has 1,076 delegates, which is 139 delegates short of the 1,215 needed to secure his third consecutive Republican White House nomination. This would be an unprecedented achievement in American presidential politics, as no GOP presidential contender has ever been nominated for three consecutive elections. It is worth noting that Grover Cleveland, a Democrat, was elected president in 1885 and served one term before being elected to a second term four years later (1885-1889 and 1893-1897).
On Tuesday, there will be a total of 161 delegates up for grabs. Georgia will have 59 delegates, Mississippi will have 40 delegates, Washington state will have 43 delegates, and Hawaii will have 19 delegates. It is crucial for Trump to secure a significant portion of these delegates in order to secure his position.
Biden, the 81-year-old Democratic incumbent president, is currently running for reelection. On the other hand, the man he defeated in the previous election, Trump, 77, is aiming for his third consecutive GOP White House nomination. It’s worth noting that Trump, along with several Republican allies, is facing indictment in Fulton County. They are being accused of engaging in activities resembling organized crime in an attempt to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election.
In that election, Biden made history as the first Democrat since Bill Clinton in 1992 to win a presidential primary in a deeply conservative Southern state. This achievement undoubtedly played a significant role in propelling his career and ultimately leading him to the presidency.
Georgia has solidified its national role in shaping American presidential politics, as both men held competing rallies on Saturday.
Both Biden and Trump issued warnings about the potential negative consequences for the country if the other were to secure another term in the White House. The two candidates held separate rallies in Georgia on Saturday, following their strong victories in the Super Tuesday contests. These wins have solidified their positions for what appears to be an inevitable rematch in the upcoming November election.
In his speech at a rally in Atlanta, Biden began by acknowledging that Trump was in another part of the state with U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. He emphasized that the company one keeps says a lot about their character, which garnered applause from the audience. Biden also pointed out that Trump had recently hosted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has been criticized for undermining democracy in his own country, at his Florida club just the day before.
“When he says he wants to be a dictator, I believe him,” Biden said of Trump. “Our freedoms are literally on the ballot this November.”
During his rally in Rome, Georgia, former President Donald Trump criticized President Biden for his handling of the border situation and held him responsible for the tragic death of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley. Trump highlighted that Riley was killed by an immigrant from Venezuela who had entered the United States illegally. As a gesture of support, he invited Riley’s family to attend the rally, which took place in the hometown of Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.
“Apologizing for calling Laken’s murderer an illegal,” Trump declared amidst a chorus of jeers and boos, “Joe Biden appeared on television and expressed regret. However, instead of apologizing to this killer, Biden should be apologizing for apologizing in the first place.”
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the “Laken Riley Act,” a bill authored by U.S. Rep. Mike Collins. Collins represents the 10th congressional district, which includes Athens and the University of Georgia.
The U.S. Senate is now considering a bill that would mandate federal authorities to detain undocumented immigrants accused of theft within the country. This bill received bipartisan support, with 37 Democrats joining all Republicans in voting in favor. The next step for the bill is to secure approval from the U.S. Senate.
Although many of the candidates who challenged Biden and Trump have suspended their campaigns, their names still appear on Georgia’s Tuesday ballot.
Jose Ibarra, 26, is facing murder charges in Riley’s death. According to ICE officials, Ibarra entered the United States unlawfully in El Paso, Texas, in 2022.
Even if the majority of Biden and Trump’s competitors have already suspended their campaigns, their names remain on Georgia’s Tuesday ballot.
Democrats
- President Joe Biden (incumbent)
- Marianne Williamson (suspended)
- Dean Phillips
Republicans
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- Ryan L. Binkley
- Doug Burgum (suspended)
- Chris Christie (suspended)
- Ron DeSantis (suspended)
- Nikki Haley (suspended)
- Asa Hutchinson (suspended)
- Perry Johnson (suspended)
- Vivek Ramaswamy (suspended)
- Tim Scott (suspended)
- David Stuckenberg
- Donald J. Trump
Thirteen states participated in the primaries held on Super Tuesday, which took place on March 5. These states included Arkansas, California, Ohio, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia. Following the Super Tuesday elections, former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley decided to suspend her campaign. Despite winning only one primary in Washington, D.C., she made the difficult decision to withdraw from the race.
The upcoming presidential primaries are scheduled for March 19 in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Ohio.
