Trump and Biden complete another primary sweep with victories in 5 states

Conventions edge closer as Americans still sour on 2024 choices

President Joe Biden and Donald Trump both inched closer to their respective party conventions on Tuesday with wins in five states: Ohio, Florida, Arizona, Illinois and Kansas.

The two men have both technically already clinched the nominations for president with delegate totals amassed in prior contests. Mr Trump’s last active challenger, Nikki Haley, dropped out after Super Tuesday; author Marianne Williamson continues to hold events on the Democratic side but has no viable path to the nomination.

Their wins on Tuesday and going forward are purely ceremonial; the 2024 election will almost certainly be a rematch of the 2020 election despite clear majorities of Americans opposing that possibility.

Both have pivoted their campaigns towards the general election as well; Mr Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have begun campaigning for re-election in earnest, and Ms Harris last week became the first sitting or former vice president to visit and deliver remarks from an abortion clinic as the Democratic Party prepares to make reproductive rights a major talking point of their 2024 effort.

Mr Trump, meanwhile, continues to rail against Democrats for the multitude of legal challenges he now faces. The former president was in Dayton, Ohio on Saturday for a last-minute rally to boost his endorsed Senate candidate to victory in the state primary; Bernie Moreno headed into the night leading his closest opponent, state Senator Matt Dolan, by a close margin.

Both Mr Trump and Mr Biden swept to victory in five state primaries on Tuesday (AP)

At his rally on Saturday, Mr Trump delivered some of his most dehumanising remarks so far, as he labelled his political opponents “not people” in some cases. He also sparked a national media cycle with his prediction of a “bloodbath” in 2025 and beyond if Mr Biden is re-elected: his campaign has maintained that he was speaking metaphorically about the economy.

Ohio’s Senate primary is the night’s big prize, with Mr Trump’s endorsement being put to the test against a member of the Buckeye State’s GOP establishment who is backed by the governor and other prominent Republicans.

Mr Moreno did eventually emerge victorious and used his acceptance speech to praise the former president as well as to commend Mr Dolan and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose on campaigns well run.

He called on the party to unify now to defeat Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown.“We have an opportunity now to retire the old commie, and send him to a retirement home and save this country because that’s what we’re going to do,” Mr Moreno told a cheering crowd.

Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno won the GOP Ohio Senate race on Tuesday (AP)

He called Mr Brown PresidentBiden’s “absolute enabler” in the Senate and liberal Senator Elizabeth Warren’s “lapdog.”

Mr Brown responded to the news on X: “The choice ahead of Ohio is clear: Bernie Moreno has spent his career and campaign putting himself first, and would do the same if elected. I’ll always work for Ohio.”

Tuesday evening’s victory for Mr Moreno is a sign of Donald Trump’s continued endorsement strength — particularly in the midwest and in states where he has less directly clashed with state Republican leaders.