Joe Biden, Donald Trump inch closer to November clash with more primary wins

Tempe (US), March 20

As Joe Biden and Donald Trump moved closer to a November rematch, primary voters around the country on Tuesday urged their favoured candidate to keep up the fight and worried about what might happen if their side loses this fall.

There was little suspense about Tuesday’s results as both candidates are already their parties’ presumptive nominees. Trump easily won Republican primaries in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas and Ohio. Biden did the same except in Florida, where Democrats had cancelled their primary and opted to award all 224 of their delegates to Biden.

Instead, the primaries and key downballot races became a reflection of the national political mood. With many Americans unenthusiastic about 2024’s choice for the White House, both Biden and Trump’s campaigns are working to fire up their bases by tearing into each other and warning of the perils of the opponent.

Those who did turn out to vote Tuesday seemed to hear that. Pat Shackleford, an 84-year-old caregiver in Mesa, Arizona, said she voted for Trump in Arizona’s primary to send the former president a message. “I wanted to encourage him that the fight has been worthwhile, that more of us are behind him than maybe the media tells you,” Shackleford said. — AP

Tuesday’s results on expected lines

• There was little suspense about Tuesday’s results as both candidates are already their parties’ presumptive nominees
• Trump easily won Republican primaries in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas and Ohio. Biden did the same except in Florida, where Democrats had cancelled their primary

Trump signals support for abortion ban

• Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he was leaning toward a 15-week national ban on abortion but supports exceptions for rape, incest and saving the life of the mother because “you have to win elections”
• Abortion promises to be a galvanizing issue for some women voters in the 2024 presidential election in which Trump will try to unseat President Joe Biden
• The Biden campaign has taken aim at Republicans’ curbs on reproductive rights after the Supreme Court overturned the Roe ruling that recognised a woman’s right to abortion