Biden Secures Democratic Nomination as 2024 Presidential Rematch With Trump Looms – News18

Incumbent Joe Biden won enough delegates on Tuesday to seal the Democratic Party’s nomination, with a face-off against former President Donald Trump looming in what would be the first US presidential election rematch in decades.

Biden needed 1,968 delegates to win the nomination, a number Edison Research said he passed on Tuesday night as results began to come in from the primary contest in Georgia, ahead of expected results from Mississippi, Washington state, the Northern Mariana Islands and Democrats living abroad.

‘Voters have a choice’

In a statement, Biden called Trump’s “campaign of resentment, revenge, and retribution that threatens the very idea of America.” “Voters now have a choice to make about the future of this country. Are we going to stand up and defend our democracy or let others tear it down? Will we restore the right to choose and protect our freedoms or let extremists take them away?” he said.

Trump was expected to clinch the Republican Party’s nomination later on Tuesday as four states held contests, including Georgia, the battleground where Trump faces criminal charges for his efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 results. The outcome is essentially predetermined, after Trump’s last remaining rival for the Republican nomination, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, ended her presidential campaign following Trump’s dominant performance last week on Super Tuesday, when he won 14 of 15 state contests.

‘Nov. 5 General Election’

Biden, meanwhile, faced only token opposition in the Democratic primary campaign, though liberal activists frustrated by his support for Israel’s war in Gaza have convinced a sizable minority of Democrats to vote “uncommitted” in protest. Both men have already turned their attention to the Nov. 5 general election, holding dueling rallies in Georgia on Saturday. In Rome, Georgia, Trump, 77, again repeated his false claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent and accused the Fulton County attorney, Fani Willis, of prosecuting him for political reasons. He also attacked Biden for failing to stem the flow of migrants at the U.S. southern border, an issue he intends to keep front and center throughout the campaign, as he did in 2020.

The Biden campaign launched a more aggressive phase on Friday, announcing Biden would tour several battleground states amid a $30 million ad buy. The campaign said it raised $10 million in the 24 hours after Biden’s State of the Union speech, adding to Democrats’ financial edge over Republicans. As of Monday, Trump needed 139 additional delegates to reach the 1,215 required to secure the Republican presidential nomination, according to Edison Research. There are 161 delegates at stake on Tuesday in Georgia, Hawaii, Mississippi and Washington state.

Biden has been dogged by the perception among a majority of voters that he is too old to serve a second four-year term, though allies believe his fiery State of the Union address may serve to counter that notion. The ongoing crisis at the US-Mexico border, where an influx of migrants has overwhelmed the system, is another weakness for Biden. He has sought to transfer the blame to Trump after the former president urged congressional Republicans to kill a bipartisan border security bill that would have stepped up enforcement. The economy, as always, will be a central campaign issue. Polls show Americans are unwilling to credit the president and are frustrated about the high prices of items like food.

(With agency inputs)