Former President Donald Trump won the GOP presidential nomination Tuesday, according to the Associated Press, securing more than half the total delegates allocated in the primaries, hours after President Joe Biden won his party’s nomination—making the 2024 primary season one of the shortest in modern history.
Donald Trump addresses the crowd inside the Donald Trump Get Out The Vote Rally at the Forum River ... [+]
Trump won Washington’s GOP primary Tuesday, putting him over the 1,215-delegate threshold needed to secure the nomination, after winning the Georgia and Mississippi primaries earlier Tuesday.
Biden secured the Democratic nomination after winning Georgia’s Democratic primary Tuesday, exceeding the 1,968 delegates needed to win his party’s nomination.
Biden entered Tuesday needing just 96 delegates of the 254 total up for grabs in six states and territories in the day’s contests, while former President Donald Trump needed 137 of the 161 available in the four states holding their GOP primaries Tuesday.
Trump’s win Tuesday makes the 2024 primary season one of the shortest since 1972. Only one candidate since then, John McCain in 2008, has exceeded the delegate threshold earlier—245 days before the election. There are 244 days until the Nov. 5 general election.
Trump’s path to the nomination appeared certain before the primaries even began, based on a polling lead that would defy historical precedent if he were to lose the contest, while Biden’s incumbent status made him his party’s heavy favorite given only longshot competitors. Trump’s final remaining competitor in the race, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, dropped out after he won 14 of 15 contests last week on Super Tuesday, effectively handing him the nomination. Both Trump and Biden have been looking beyond the primaries for weeks—focusing their attacks on each other and largely ignoring other longshot candidates as it’s become clear they’re headed for a closely contested rematch, with polls showing Trump leading Biden by just 1.7 points, according to RealClearPolitics’ polling average.
Republicans will officially confirm their nominee at the Republican National Convention July 15-18 in Milwaukee, and Democrats will hold their convention Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.