Super Tuesday 2024: Biden, Trump move closer to rematch

WASHINGTON — As President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump move closer to a rematch after the blitz of Super Tuesday contests, New York officials are preparing for a noncompetitive April primary.

New York’s primary election is scheduled for April 2. And while Biden, a Democrat, and Trump, a Republican, are each expected to secure the necessary delegates to formally clinch their respective party nominations by the end of March, leaders in both parties plan to use the state primary as a rallying point before November’s general election.

Jay Jacobs, chairman of the state and Nassau County Democratic committees, said there may not be much attention surrounding New York’s primary because polls long have projected a general election rematch between Biden and Trump.

Even so, “We’re going to coordinate with the campaign and work with them on what they feel is necessary,” Jacobs said Tuesday evening as Biden stacked up wins against longshot challengers Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) and self-help author Marianne Williamson. Phillips on Wednesday announced he was dropping out of the race and endorsing Biden.

After Tuesday's results were tallied, Biden and Trump both won more than three-quarters of the delegates needed to secure their respective nominations before August’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago and the Republican National Convention, scheduled for July in Milwaukee.

State Republican chairman Ed Cox, in a statement after Trump’s multiple victories over former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, said: “In New York and nationally, a united Republican Party will take the fight to Joe Biden and win.”

Suffolk GOP chairman Jesse Garcia said he expects more Long Island-elected Republicans will endorse Trump as the April primary draws closer.

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) was the first of Long Island’s congressional delegation to publicly endorse Trump in a Jan. 20 social media post, followed by Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-Island Park), who endorsed the former president at the Feb. 26 Nassau GOP convention.

“There's never been a question about organizing behind Donald Trump as the nominee, period,” Garcia said.

Statewide, some congressional Republicans elected in 2022 in districts won by Biden in 2020 have avoided publicly endorsing Trump.

Nassau GOP chairman Joe Cairo said: “I think it’s pretty much a fait accompli” that Trump will be the party’s nominee.

“He'll do well on April 2, if in fact it's a contest by that time,” Cairo said. “He'll be the nominee of the party and we’ll support him.”

Here are some other highlights from Super Tuesday:

Ready for rematch

Biden and Trump made clear they’re ready to pivot to a one-on-one rematch.

“November 5th is right around the corner,” Trump said in an election night speech from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

Biden, in a campaign statement, said Tuesday’s “results leave the American people with a clear choice: Are we going to keep moving forward or will we allow Donald Trump to drag us backwards into the chaos, division, and darkness that defined his term in office?”

Trump, in his speech, criticized the Biden administration’s handling of the economy, immigration and foreign policy.

“We’re going to win this election because we have no choice,” Trump said. “If we lose the election, we’re not going to have a country.”

Haley’s future

Haley suspended her campaign Wednesday, congratulating Trump while insisting he would need to fight to earn the support of those who backed her bid.

Though Haley notched a victory in Vermont, deep-pocketed donors had signaled they likely would pull their financial support if she did not have a strong showing overall on Tuesday.

Her fate in a Republican Party dominated by Trump remains to be seen. Trump has branded her “disloyal” for running against him after serving in his administration as United Nations ambassador, and his steady stream of attacks have taken aim at her wardrobe, her Indian ancestry and the absence of her husband, who was deployed overseas.

Former Rep. Pete King (R-Seaford) said he believes there is still a role for Haley in the party, noting that she outlasted the initial field of Republican candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

“To win you need the independents, and the suburban voters, and you need women voters, and she does better among them than [Trump] does,” King said. “He's not going to put her on the ticket, and I don’t think she wants to be on the ticket, but he should try to make peace with her and get her support for the campaign.”

Familiar battle lines

Trump and Biden on Tuesday offered a glimpse of the some of the central themes of their reelection bids.

Much as he did in 2016, Trump will rely heavily on immigration as an issue, arguing that his border policies made it harder for migrants to enter the U.S.

“We have people coming in from such bad places, and we’re gonna have to get them out,” Trump said.

Biden, who in 2020 said he ran against Trump because he believed Trump posed “an existential threat” to democracy, reiterated his belief that democracy was at stake in the election.

“He is driven by grievance and grift, focused on his own revenge and retribution, not the American people,” Biden said. “He is determined to destroy our democracy, rip away fundamental freedoms like the ability for women to make their own health care decisions, and pass another round of billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy — and he’ll do or say anything to put himself in power.”

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.