Millions of Americans in 15 states and one territory went to the polls today for primary contests that will set the stage for November’s elections. We call it Super Tuesday because it’s the busiest voting day before November, and typically it plays a central role in the presidential nomination process.
This year, however, is different. President Biden faces no major challengers, making him a lock to win every Democratic primary. Donald Trump is competing only against the dwindling campaign of Nikki Haley, whom he is expected to defeat in most or all of today’s contests.
Still, tonight’s results — which we will be tracking live as the votes come in over the next several hours — will offer important insights about the American electorate and the likely rematch between Biden and Trump, both of whom are deeply unpopular. Here’s what else to watch for:
Signs of strength or weakness: While it is difficult to use primary results to gauge general-election prospects, my colleague Kellen Browning said he would be monitoring the enthusiasm for both Trump and Biden. For Trump, Kellen is watching the suburbs, where Haley has demonstrated strength. For Biden, he is watching for protest votes against the president’s support for Israel.
Haley’s do-or-die moment: If polls in California and Texas that show Trump leading by huge margins prove correct, Haley will most likely lack a clear path forward.
California: For those uninterested in the presidential race, “there is still plenty to watch for tonight,” Kellen said. The most closely watched Senate race will probably be in California, where the Democrat Adam Schiff is a front-runner. And a few key House districts may determine control of Congress.
North Carolina: The state’s primary for governor is expected to be one of the most expensive in the country. And the leading candidates — Josh Stein, the mild-mannered Democratic attorney general, and Mark Robinson, the polarizing Republican lieutenant governor — could not be more different.
For more: We talked to an ice cream maker in Texas whose top concern is the economy. She plans to vote for Trump; hear her explain why.
China set an ambitious goal for economic growth
At China’s annual legislative meeting today, the country’s top leaders announced an official growth target of about 5 percent for this year. Meeting that target would be a significant boon for a country battered by a property crisis and a lack of consumer confidence.
But it could be hard for China to pull off. Officials signaled that they were not ready to ramp up deficit spending for economic stimulus, and no new measures were offered to turn around recent headwinds. “It’s an unsurprisingly unrealistic set of targets,” one analyst said.
Bitcoin hit a record high
For the first time, the price of a single Bitcoin rose above $69,000 today, capping a remarkable 300 percent rise since the collapse of FTX in 2022. The digital currency’s value rose over the last year as regulators authorized its inclusion in mainstream investment products.
Still, cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile. Within five hours of hitting the record, Bitcoin’s price dropped by about $7,000.
More top news
A moody, mesmerizing new thriller
Tana French, who is well known for gut-wrenching mysteries set almost exclusively in Ireland, came out today with a new novel: “The Hunter.” In it, a retired Chicago cop living in an insular, rural Irish community tries to help a teenager.
“It’s the kind of reading I like the best, where you are somewhere else and you completely lose yourself,” said my colleague Tina Jordan, who is an editor on the Book Review.
For more, here are the 15 books we are most looking forward to this month.
Celebrating community and transparency in architecture
Architecture’s highest honor, the Pritzker Prize, was awarded today to Riken Yamamoto, a Japanese architect who is known for modest designs featuring literal and figurative transparency.
He has designed family homes without walls, public buildings made of glass and a fire station that allows passers-by to watch the firefighters train. Check out his designs.
Got cat pictures? They’ll waive the fine.
In an effort to shake people out of solitary routines created during the pandemic, the public library system in Worcester, Mass., began a new fee-forgiveness program this month. All fees for lost or damaged books will be wiped away, the managers said, if you bring in a picture of a cat.
A cute photo or a magazine clipping will do. They’ll even accept a drawing. No cat? No problem. “We take a lot of honorary cats,” the executive director of the library said. “Any ungovernable animal.”
Have a purrfect evening.
Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew
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