Former President Donald Trump was on track to dominate the 15-state Super Tuesday Republican primaries and to sweep up hundreds of delegates as he advanced toward an all-but-assured rematch against President Biden in November.
Early results showed Mr. Trump, 77, prevailing over former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, 51, who is his sole remaining GOP opponent and, as of Tuesday, appears to have no path to beat the former president.
Trump easily trounced Ms. Haley in Virginia, one of a handful of Super Tuesday states with open primaries where she hoped to be competitive against the former president.
Trump was up more than 30 points over Ms. Haley with about a quarter of the results in on Tuesday evening.
Mr. Trump also was projected as the winner in North Carolina and Tennessee.
Ms. Haley’s best shot at beating Mr. Trump was in Vermont, where 17 delegates were up for grabs. Mr. Trump was leading there in early returns.
Even if Ms. Haley wins one of the 15 Super Tuesday states, Mr. Trump is poised to end the day fewer than 200 delegates away from securing his third GOP nomination. Polling trends also show that he is on track to beat a weakening Mr. Biden in November as voters sour on the president both nationally and in key swing states.
Mr. Trump planned a Super Tuesday victory speech at a festive gathering in his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, while Ms. Haley hunkered down with campaign staff at her home in South Carolina, where she served as governor from 2011 until 2017.
She did not plan to address supporters on Tuesday. Campaign aides described the mood as “jubilant.”
Despite doubts among Democrats about his mental and physical fitness for the job, Mr. Biden, 81, was set to win Democratic primaries Tuesday in 16 states and American Samoa. He’ll continue on his undefeated streak to the nomination facing only very weak competition from Democrats Marianne Williamson and Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota.
Mr. Trump sought a “record-setting” win Tuesday to show he’ll be tough for Mr. Biden to beat in November.
“It really does send a signal,” Mr. Trump said in an interview on the Right Side Broadcasting Network as he urged voters to turn out for him.
Early exit polls showed most Republican voters continue to back Mr. Trump even as he faces possible convictions on 91 criminal charges in four county, state and federal cases.
Among Virginia voters, 53% believed Mr. Trump is fit to be president even if convicted of a crime, while 40% said he would not be fit. Among North Carolina GOP voters, 64% would back Mr. Trump, even if convicted, and 32% said they would not.
Ms. Haley has touted herself as the GOP candidate who is more likely to beat Mr. Biden, in part because of Mr. Trump’s legal entanglements.
A CBS poll taken Feb. 28 to March 1 found Ms. Haley beating Mr. Biden by nine points among likely voters. In the same poll, Mr. Trump beat Mr. Biden by 4 points.
But Ms. Haley’s efforts to win the party nomination are quickly falling out of reach.
Super Tuesday’s contests put 884 delegates up for grabs and Mr. Trump is slated to win the vast majority.
He entered Tuesday’s contests with 273 delegates after winning the North Dakota Republican Caucus on Monday and picking up all 29 delegates.
Mr. Trump could secure the 1,215 delegates to win the nomination as soon as March 12, when Republican primaries take place in Georgia, Mississippi and Washington and a caucus is held in Hawaii.
If Mr. Trump comes up a few delegates short next week, he’ll clinch it on March 19, when five states hold primaries that will award 350 delegates combined, and like every other contest, Mr. Trump is set to dominate.
With virtually no path to victory, Ms. Haley has not signaled plans to drop out of the race yet. She has set up a “leadership team” of state and local GOP leaders in Georgia, where 59 delegates are up for grabs next week.
Ms. Haley slowed Mr. Trump’s advance to the nomination earlier this week with her first primary victory in the District of Columbia, where she picked up 19 delegates.
Much of her support appears to come from Never-Trump Republicans and Democrats.
Exit polls in Virginia showed 60% of those who voted for Haley did so as a vote against Mr. Trump, rather than a vote in favor of her.
Among Virginia GOP voters, Mr. Biden scored a 1% approval rating. Among Haley voters, Mr. Biden’s approval rating was 48%
Future wins look unlikely for Ms. Haley and her decision to remain in the race has raised questions about whether she’s preparing for a third-party candidacy, perhaps with the organization No Labels, which is fighting for ballot access in all 50 states.
Her continued candidacy and attacks on Mr. Trump have drawn criticism from others in the party who say she’s sabotaging Mr. Trump and helping Mr. Biden by remaining in the race.
Ms. Haley’s campaign website lists no future campaign events.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.