Joe Biden (left) and Donald Trump. | Photo credit: AP
Donald Trump’s name will appear on the ballot for the first time since his historic felony conviction on June 4, as a handful of states hold the final 2024 Republican presidential primaries.
The former president will attend the Republican primary elections in Montana, New Jersey and New Mexico. President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, will compete in the primaries in the same states, plus the primaries in Washington, DC, and one in South Dakota.
Republicans in DC held a party primary in March. South Dakota canceled the Grand Old Party (GOP) presidential primaries because Trump was unchallenged.
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Voters will also cast ballots in primaries for federal, state and local offices in those states. Mr Trump and Mr Biden are both expected to easily prevail in the election, where they are the last major candidates still running. But the results could point to voters’ concerns about their choices as the November election approaches.
If Trump’s victory margins are smaller than expected, it could be a sign that voters are hesitant to nominate a presidential candidate with a criminal record.
Trump’s dominance in the primaries has also been overshadowed by continued support from a minority of Republican voters for former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who dropped out in March.
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Tuesday’s election will be the first since Ms. Haley said two weeks ago that she would vote for Trump in November. They may be an indication of whether her supporters will follow her.
Mr. Biden has faced his own sustained vote of protest in recent elections, as Democratic voters dissatisfied with his handling of Israel’s war with Hamas seek to register their disapproval. Campaigns were organized in several states on June 4 to vote ‘voluntarily’ in the Democratic elections.
During the New Jersey primary, many counties will see “uncommitted” on the ballot above the phrase “Justice for Palestine, permanent ceasefire now!” After June 4, Democrats have two additional caucuses on June 8, for Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, to conclude their 2024 primary calendar.
In addition to the presidential election, states will hold primaries for federal and local races on June 4, one of the most closely watched being the Republican Senate race in Montana.
Retired Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy has the support of Trump and national Republican leaders as he faces two other candidates in the race. The winner will challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in what is expected to be one of the most competitive races that could determine control of the chamber.
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Republicans will also choose a nominee to replace Rep. Matt Rosendale, who is retiring after originally trying to enter the Senate contest but dropping out when Trump endorsed Mr. Sheehy.
In New Jersey, Democrats will choose a candidate to replace scandal-plagued Senator Bob Menendez, who is on trial in New York on federal corruption charges. Mr. Menendez decided not to participate in the primaries. He filed the paperwork on June 3 to run in the general election as an independent candidate.
Representative Andy Kim is seen as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination.
Vying for the Republican nomination are Republican fundraiser Curtis Bashaw, Navy veteran Albert Harshaw, former Tabernacle deputy mayor Justin Murphy and Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, who has Trump’s support.
Five Democrats will compete in a primary for the state’s Third District, which Mr. Kim holds and is expected to remain in Democratic hands in November. Mr. Menendez’s son, first-term Rep. Rob Menendez, faces a tough primary challenge in New Jersey’s 8th District from Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla.
In New Mexico, where Democrats hold all three seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, only one primary will be held in the 1st District. Republicans Louie Sanchez and Steve Jones will compete to take on incumbent Melanie Stansbury in a Democratic-leaning district in Albuquerque.
In D.C., voters will decide the primaries for the city’s non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, and in Iowa, where the presidential election kicked off in January with the nation’s first caucuses, voters will choose nominees at the primaries for local elections. races and seats in the U.S. House, including a seat that could play a key role in determining control of the House of Representatives.
Democrats in the Des Moines-area 3rd Congressional District will choose a candidate to take on Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, who defeated an incumbent Democrat in 2022.
