U.S. President Joe Biden mathematically secured the Democratic nomination for November’s presidential election by winning his party’s primary in Georgia, according to media projections.
Biden thus surpassed the magic number of 1,968 delegates needed to virtually secure the nomination.
Georgia, the first state holding elections this Tuesday, awarded 108 delegates in the Democratic race, but Biden only needed 96 to lock in the nomination.
With 5% of the votes counted, Biden received 95.4% of the support in Georgia, far outpacing the other two names on the ballot: Marianne Williamson, a self-help author who garnered 2.6%, and Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips, who secured just 2%.
The major U.S. television networks, responsible for projecting election victories, declared Biden the winner just ten minutes after polls closed, underscoring the decisiveness of his victory.
In addition to Georgia, Democratic primaries are being held this Tuesday in Mississippi and Washington. The Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory in the Pacific, also held its primary today, where Biden won all six delegates at stake.
Trump Could Also Secure His Nomination
Former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) could also become the Republican nominee for the White House this Tuesday following primaries in Georgia, Mississippi, Hawaii, and Washington. Those four states award a total of 161 delegates.
Trump, who entered election night with 1,078 delegates, needs to win at least 137 more to reach the 1,215-delegate threshold required to be considered the presumptive Republican nominee.
However, Trump’s victory moment may come later than Biden’s, once polls close in Washington or results from Hawaii are known, likely on Wednesday.
In the U.S., the primary process is indirect: voters do not directly choose the candidates but instead select delegates pledged to support a candidate at the party’s convention.
Thus, while both could mathematically become their parties’ presidential nominees as early as tonight, they must still wait for the summer conventions for their parties to officially nominate them.
The Republican National Convention will take place from July 15 to 18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, while the Democratic National Convention will be held in Chicago, Illinois, from August 19 to 22.
Image: DiarioNY
