US Super Tuesday: Biden, Trump move closer to November presidential rematch with early wins

US President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are moving closer to presidential nominations from their respective parties after both of them racked up early wins on Super Tuesday elections, effectively going for a historic rematch despite many voters not wanting it.

People from 16 states and one territory are voting for the presidential candidates on Super Tuesday, the biggest voting day for the election where hundreds of delegates are at stake.

Biden and Trump started off the night by winning Virginia. Biden also won North Carolina, Vermont and Iowa, where Democrats previously held a presidential preference contest but didn’t release their results until Tuesday. Apart from the presidential race, California voters are also choosing who will compete to fill the Senate seats long held by the late Dianne Feinstein and recently deposed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

The governor’s race will take shape in North Carolina, a state that both parties are fiercely contesting ahead of November.

Meanwhile, Trump also won from North Carolina as he sought to force Republican rival Nikki Haley to drop out from the race on Super Tuesday. Trump, who has dominated the Republican campaign from the start despite a litany of criminal charges, has swept all but one of the contests so far. It is unlikely that Trump will win enough delegates to formally clinch the nomination on Tuesday, but another commanding performance will put pressure on Haley to drop her long-shot presidential bid.