Super Tuesday primaries 2024: Trump and Biden dominate, Haley drops out
538 tracked how Trump and Haley did, plus key U.S. House and Senate races.
March 5 was Super Tuesday — the biggest election day of the year until the one in November! With former President Donald Trump projected to win 14 of the day's 15 GOP presidential nominating contests, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley announced Wednesday morning that she is suspending her campaign.
It was also the first downballot primary day of 2024, with important contests for Senate, House and governor in states like Alabama, California, North Carolina and Texas.
538 reporters, analysts and contributors broke down the election results as they came in with live updates, analysis and commentary. Read our full live blog below.
Latest headlines:
Republican primary voters want Haley to drop out
Given that Haley almost certainly wins Vermont (though whether she clears 50% and takes all the delegates is yet to be seen), she may be less likely to drop out of the race. But most Republican primary voters would rather see her move on: according to a February poll by Emerson College Polling, 56 percent of likely Republican primary voters nationwide say that Haley should drop out of the race for the Republican nomination. Thirty-one percent say she should stay in, and 13 percent are not sure.
—Mary Radcliffe, 538
Arkansas State Supreme Court results
In Arkansas, Justice Courtney Hudson won a race for position 2 on the state Supreme Court. She currently holds position 3, but ran for the vacant position 2 because of complicated judicial retirement rules. Her win will leave her current seat vacant, which will give Sanders the opportunity to appoint a replacement for the rest of the term. There is also a 4-way race for the chief justice spot, but if no candidate wins a majority tonight, the top two will head on to a runoff in November.
—Monica Potts, 538
Tight race in North Carolina’s 10th District
With nearly all expected votes counted in the Republican primary for North Carolina’s 10th District, it’s a tight race between moderate Pat Harrigan, who has 41 percent of the vote, and conservative Grey Mills, who has 39 percent. Whoever wins will be heavily favored to win the general election in this dark-red seat, which is open because Rep. Patrick McHenry is retiring.
—Nathaniel Rakich, 538
Will the VIEWPAC-endorsed candidate win in Alabama's 2nd District?
In the Republican primary, attorney Caroleene Dobson is trailing businessman Dick Brewbaker in Alabama’s 2nd district, with 40 percent of the expected vote reporting. This race is an open primary due to redistricting, where eight Republicans are running for the nomination. Dobson had received an endorsement from VIEWPAC, an organization that formed in 1997 to elect more Republican women to office.
—Meredith Conroy, 538 contributor
Several incumbents ousted in the Texas state House
As we explained yesterday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Trump all set out to defeat several incumbent Republicans in the Texas state House yesterday (albeit for different reasons). The Associated Press has now projected winners in most of those races, and here's how they turned out: In total, at least eight Republican incumbents lost their primaries after being targeted by one of those three men. Another seven, including Speaker Dade Phelan, were forced into runoffs.
Abbott's muscle looks like it was the most effective: Five of the 10 incumbents he targeted (over their opposition to his school-voucher plan) lost, and another three went to runoffs. Trump also did OK: Two of the eight incumbents he targeted lost, and three more went to runoffs. Paxton didn't have as high of a success rate: Only seven of the 35 incumbents he targeted lost, although seven more were forced into runoffs. That's maybe not too surprising, though, since unlike Abbott, Paxton didn't put a ton of money where his mouth was.
—Nathaniel Rakich, 538