Both Joe Biden and Donald Trump won primary elections in Georgia, Mississippi and Washington state on Tuesday, solidifying a rematch a majority of voters aren’t looking forward to.
Both men captured nearly all the votes cast so far in what had become token state primaries, along with the primary for Democrats abroad and the Republican caucus in Hawaii. Biden also won the Northern Mariana Islands primary on Tuesday morning, earning 11 delegates.
In Georgia, a nascent effort to register opposition to the Biden administration’s support for the war in Gaza could not be easily expressed with “no preference” protest votes in that state, because the ballot does not provide a way to do so. One woman in Roswell, Georgia, described voting for Representative Dean Phillips, who dropped out of the Democratic contest last week, as a substitute.
“I voted a protest vote against the war in Gaza because I think it is horrible what is happening and I’m ashamed of my country right now,” said Robin Hawking, 56, a software developer. She said she is normally a Republican voter. “I’m hoping if enough people vote for not-Biden, he’ll get the message that he’s going to lose this election unless he does a ceasefire.”
Uchenna Nwosu, a gynecologist, said her decision was a no-brainer.
“It’s clear that I couldn’t vote for somebody who repealed women’s rights for abortion, for instance, for healthcare,” she said. “I don’t know why Trump should be in the race. I mean, that alone is a good reason. He doesn’t stand for anything that I stand for. So that’s it.”
Trump ran unopposed in Georgia, though other names still appeared on the ballot, attracting a few voters.
Scott Carpenter of Roswell voted for former ambassador Nikki Haley because he hated Trump, he said. He voted for Biden in 2020. “I don’t like Trump. I don’t like Biden. I just wanted a different choice,” he said.
Travis Foreman, 46, an attorney in Alpharetta, said he thought Trump was good for America and expressed frustration with the Democratic party.
“I don’t agree with the party and some of their core beliefs,” Foreman said, adding that he’s voted Democratic and independent during his life. “And it’s hard for me as a preacher’s kid from south Georgia to just agree with some of their core fundamental beliefs that they want me to. A whole gender ideology, movement – I just have a problem with it. I don’t mind what anyone chooses to do with their lives and how they live their lives, but don’t try to force me to accept certain things against my own principles. It just came to me that’s the No 1 issue.”
Biden won enough delegates in Georgia almost immediately to win the Democratic nomination, which requires 1,968 on the first ballot to win.
“Four years ago, I ran for president because I believed we were in a battle for the soul of this nation. Because of the American people, we won that battle, and now I am honored that the broad coalition of voters representing the rich diversity of the Democratic party across the country have put their faith in me once again to lead our party – and our country – in a moment when the threat Trump poses is greater than ever,” he said in a statement.
Trump was also on track to secure the required 1,215 delegates needed for the Republican nomination.
