Donald Trump’s name will appear on the ballot for the first time since his conviction in his hush money trial
Donald Trump’s name will appear on the ballot for the first time on Tuesday, as some states hold their final Republican presidential primaries of 2024.
The former president will be on the ballot in Republican primaries in Montana, New Jersey and New Mexico. Presumptive Democratic nominee President Joe Biden will run in primaries in those same states, as well as primaries in Washington, D.C., and South Dakota.
Republicans held a party-run primary election in D.C. in March. South Dakota canceled its G.O.P. presidential primary because Trump ran unopposed.
Voters will also vote in primary races for federal, state and local offices in those states.
Both Trump and Biden are expected to win the election easily, as they are the last major candidates.
But the results may signal voters’ anxiety about their choices as the November election draws closer.
If Trump’s margin of victory is smaller than expected, it could be a sign that voters are hesitant to nominate a presidential candidate with a serious criminal record.
Trump’s dominance in the primaries has also been influenced by the Republican Party’s minority of voters’ continued support for former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who withdrew in March. Tuesday’s contest will be the first since Haley said two weeks ago she would vote for Trump in November. It could be a sign of whether her supporters will follow her.
Biden has faced his own ongoing protest vote in recent polls as Democratic voters unhappy with his handling of Israel’s war with Hamas seek to register their disapproval. There are organized campaigns in several states on Tuesday to vote for “uncommitted” in Democratic contests. In New Jersey’s primary, “uncommitted” will be on the ballot in several counties above the phrase “Justice for Palestine, permanent ceasefire now!”
After Tuesday, Democrats have two additional caucuses on June 8, for Guam and the US Virgin Islands, to close out their 2024 primary calendar.
In addition to the presidential contest, states are holding primaries for federal and local elections on Tuesday, with the most closely watched being the Republican Senate race in Montana.
Retired Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy has the backing of Trump and national Republican leaders as he faces two other candidates in the race. The winner will challenge Democratic Senator Jon Tester in what is expected to be one of the most competitive races that could decide control of the chamber.
Republicans will also select a nominee to replace Rep. Matt Rosendale, who is retiring, as he originally wanted to run in the Senate election but dropped out after Trump endorsed Sheehi.
In New Jersey, Democrats will choose a candidate to replace scandal-ridden Senator Bob Menendez, who is on trial in New York on federal corruption charges. Menendez decided not to run in the primary. He filed paperwork on Monday to run in the general election as an independent candidate.
Rep. Andy Kim is seen as a front-runner for the Democratic nomination.
The Republican nomination race includes businessman Curtis Bashaw, Navy veteran Albert Harshaw, former Tabernacle Vice Mayor Justin Murphy and Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, who has the backing of Trump.
Five Democrats will compete in the primary for the state’s 3rd District, which Kim holds and the seat is expected to remain in Democratic hands in November.
Menendez’s son, first-term Rep. Rob Menendez, is facing a tough primary challenge from Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla in New Jersey’s 8th District.
In New Mexico, where Democrats hold all three of the state’s U.S. House seats, only one primary will be held in District 1. Republicans Louie Sanchez and Steve Jones will challenge incumbent Melanie Stansbury in the Democratic-leaning district based in Albuquerque.
In D.C., voters will decide a primary election for the city’s nonvoting delegate to the U.S. House, and in Iowa, which kicked off its presidential election with its first-in-the-nation caucuses in January, voters will choose candidates in local elections and primaries for U.S. House seats, including a candidate who could play a key role in determining control of the House.
Democrats in the Des Moines-area 3rd Congressional District will select a candidate who will take on first-term Republican U.S. Rep. Jack Nunn, who unseated an incumbent Democrat, in 2022.