Super Tuesday: Haley’s toast, Biden faces Gaza pressure, & a bigot wins NC

As expected, former President Donald Trump has handily beaten former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley in the Super Tuesday primary elections held in 14 states and one U.S. territory. Though Haley beat Trump in the blue state of Vermont, Trump’s overwhelming victory all but ensures the end of her presidential campaign.

In other noteworthy Super Tuesday races, North Carolina’s rabidly anti-LGBTQ+ Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) won his state’s Republican gubernatorial primary, President Joe Biden received tens of thousands of protest votes against his handling of the Gaza conflict, and at least 53 other LGBTQ+ candidates faced primary races in six states.

Related: The stakes of Super Tuesday are more profound than you may realize. LGBTQ+ leaders explain why.

“Our very democracy is at stake and the promise of basic human rights for LGBTQ+ people hangs in the balance.”

Trump dominates as Haley’s campaign nears its end Your LGBTQ+ guide to Election 2024

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Trump won the primaries in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia. Haley only beat Trump in Vermont, and she made no victory speech about it.

To date, Haley has only won two primary elections, making history by beating Trump in Washington, D.C. this past weekend. Though she promised to stay in the race until Super Tuesday, she has no viable way to win enough delegates to win the Republican nomination and will likely drop out from the race soon.

The only remaining questions are whether Trump’s margins of victory on Tuesday show unified Republican support for his candidacy, and whether Haley will now support his campaign after months of using pointed, personal rhetoric against him in the primary.

Biden faces “not committed” votes protesting his Gaza response

Last week, nearly over 100,000 Democratic voters expressed disappointment with Biden’s support of Israel’s military retaliation against Palestine by voting “uncommitted” in the Michigan Democratic primary.

The campaign spread to the five Super Tuesday states that also allow voters to choose “uncommitted: Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, North Carolina, and Tennessee. As of 10:12 p.m. EST, thousands of Democratic primary voters in all the states (except Iowa) have voted uncommitted. Iowa only tallied nearly 500 “uncommitted” votes whereas North Carolina tallied nearly 58,000 “no preference” votes against Biden.

Supporters of the “uncommitted” campaign say they want Biden to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, which he has, and to end unconditional U.S. aid to Israel’s military. The campaign’s supporters say the “uncommitted” votes are meant to demonstrate that sizeable constituency holds the key to Biden’s victory in November. However, these voters also say they in no way support Trump, whose presidency roundly disregarded Palestinian and Arab lives.

Anti-LGBTQ+ Lt. Gov. wins NC’s GOP gubernatorial primary

North Carolina’s bigoted Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson will run against the Democratic gubernatorial primary winner, state Attorney General Josh Stein, in November. Stein will be the third consecutive Democratic Attorney General to seek the Governor’s Office, WTVD reported, possibly following in the footsteps of former Gov. Mike Easley and current Gov. Roy Cooper, both of whom won two terms before being term-limited.

Democrats will likely try and tie Robinson’s anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-abortion rhetoric to Trump, who endorsed him as “[Martin Luther King Jr.] on steroids.” In addition to thinking very poorly of Martin Luther King — Robinson called him a bad pastor and a communist — Robinson has a long history of anti-LGBTQ+ and antisemitic statements, and voters nationwide seem largely opposed to his hardline brand of GOP anti-abortion policies that lack exceptions. Robinson voiced support for such hardline policies as recently as 2020.

State polls show Trump leading President Joe Biden by 5.7% with early Super Tuesday exit polls indicating that Republicans would still support Trump even if he’s convicted of any of the 91 felony criminal charges facing him. The state has voted almost entirely for Republican presidents over the last 40 years, with the exception of former President Barack Obama in 2008.

Dems battle over seat of deceased Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

Democratic U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (CA) beat out fellow progressive Reps. Katie Porter, and Barbara Lee for the Senate seat of now-deceased Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who passed away last year at the age of 90. The seat had been temporarily occupied by Black lesbian union organizer Lashonda Butler.

Schiff will now face off against his Republican rival, former Major League Baseball star Steve Garvey, in the November election. While Garvey could pull an upset, California hasn’t elected a Republican federal senator in many years.

53 other LGBTQ+ candidates vie for political victory

At least 53 out LGBTQ+ candidates appeared on Super Tuesday primary ballots in Arkansas, California, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont, according to the Victory Fund.

The candidates include Texas state candidate Mo Jenkins, who could become the first out trans person elected to any office in Texas history; Lauren Ashley Simmons, who is running to replace Texas State Rep. Shawn Thierry, a Democrat who voted to ban books & trans healthcare; and California state House candidate Christy Holstege, who could become the first out bisexual woman elected to the state legislature.

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