Presidential primary season will kick into high gear March 5 with Republicans and Democrats across 15 states heading to the polls to cast their votes on “Super Tuesday.” President Biden and former President Trump hold commanding leads for their respective party nominations, and both are expected to win heavily across the contests on Tuesday.
The only unknown factor is Republican candidate Nikki Haley. Haley has garnered only 43 delegates so far, and with 874 Republican delegates up for grabs Tuesday – about one-third of the total available delegates in the presidential primary – she’ll need to have a very strong performance if she has any hope of becoming viable as a challenger – something polling does not indicate is likely.
In addition to presidential primaries, Alabama, Arkansas, California, North Carolina, and Texas are holding their congressional primaries as well. With new congressional maps in place in Alabama and North Carolina, many are closely watching the outcomes of the primary elections, specifically, Alabama’s 1st Congressional District, which has current GOP Congressmen Jerry Carl and Barry Moore running against each other after the redistricting process pushed the two members into the same district.
North Carolina’s 13th District, which is currently held by Democrat Rep. Wiley Nickel, is now all but certain to be a GOP pickup, but there is no clear frontrunner in the 14-candidate Republican primary. North Carolina’s 6th District sees a Republican primary matchup between former Reps. Mark Walker, Bo Hines – who lost to Nickel last election cycle – and Addison McDowell, a former staffer for Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., who has also gained Trump’s endorsement, along with three other individuals. It’s highly likely that both of these contests could end up in a run-off, as polling suggests that no candidate will clear the 30 percent threshold needed.
The race most closely watched by many is the open Senate seat primary in California, left vacant by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein upon her death in 2023. While Sen. Laphonza Butler, D-Calif., is currently serving the remainder of Feinstein’s term, she has turned down the opportunity to run for a full term. With California’s top-two system, meaning the top two candidates advance regardless of party affiliation, many were thinking this would be a member-on-member race with Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter facing off against each other. In recent weeks though Republican Steve Garvey has surged in the polls, even surpassing Schiff. This looks to set the stage for a Schiff/Garvey match up that Schiff is likely to win in the heavily Democratic state.
Post Details
Publish Date
March 4, 2024
News Type
- Washington Weekly
Points of Contact
Related Articles
Rounds Talks NFIP Reform as Working Group Charts Course
You’ve reached members-only content. If your company is a NAMIC member and you’re a NAMIC.org registered user, please make sure…
Senate Nomination Votes Continue
You’ve reached members-only content. If your company is a NAMIC member and you’re a NAMIC.org registered user, please make sure…
NAMIC Relaunches Cybersecurity and Insurance Working Group
You’ve reached members-only content. If your company is a NAMIC member and you’re a NAMIC.org registered user, please make sure…