National
Tuesday played host to the busiest day of the primary calendar since March 19. Both parties held primaries in four states, while Democrats held primaries in North Dakota on March 30.
Joe Biden (D-DE) easily won the North Dakota Primary, with 92.4% of the vote. Only 909 people cast ballots in the election. Biden took all thirteen delegates available, one of the lowest delegate counts of any state in the nominating field.
On Tuesday, Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin held contests for both parties. In more competitive, crowded fields, these states would be large indicators of political moods. But since both candidates have become the presumptive nominees by mathematically eliminating their opponents, there wasn’t much fanfare for these states.
Party primaries were scheduled in Delaware but have been canceled due to state laws requiring multiple candidates on each ballot.
In Connecticut, former President Donald Trump (R-FL) won the primary with 77.9% of the vote. Former South Carolina Governor and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley (R-SC) took 14% of the vote, despite having suspended her campaign on March 6. The “Uncommitted” ballot option took 4.8%.
Trump won 163 municipalities where results have been reported. The remaining six – Chaplain, Deep River, Hampton, New Britain, Washington, and Woodstock – have not reported votes as of press time, but it is assumed Trump will carry these towns. Trump won twenty-two of twenty-eight delegates up for grabs.
Biden won Connecticut with 84.9% of the vote, with the “Uncommitted” option taking 11.4%. This is yet another installment of protest votes among Democrats soured on Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza by selecting “Uncommitted” options. The initiative has collected just twenty-six delegates nationwide.
Biden won fifty-one of sixty available delegates and 162 municipalities. It is assumed he will win the remaining seven when all votes are tabulated.
In New York, Trump won all sixty-two counties and all ninety-one delegates, winning statewide with 81.9% of the vote. Haley took 12.9%, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) took 4.2%. Christie suspended his campaign in February. Trump received almost 14,100 votes in Suffolk County.
Biden won New York with 91.5% of the vote, capturing sweeping all counties and all 268 delegates. Biden took 11,600 votes in Suffolk County.
Republican turnout narrowly outpaced Democratic turnout in Suffolk, with 13,500 turning out for the GOP to the Democrats’ 12,500.
Trump also swept all thirty-nine municipalities in Rhode Island and took fifteen of the nineteen delegates available. He won 84.4% statewide support, to Haley’s 10.7%.
Biden took 82.6% to the “Uncommitted” option’s 14.9%. He won all municipalities and twenty-two delegates of twenty-six up for grabs.
New England is home to historically Republican and classically liberal politics. The primaries, although they don’t offer much in terms of analytics, is still a good litmus test for Republicans trying out their messaging. Many of these states swung towards Trump in 2016, but swung back to Biden in 2020.
Finally, Wisconsin provided perhaps the most important primary result of the evening. Wisconsin’s 2016 primary proved vital, as Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) won the state and GOP turnout outpaced that of the Democrats. Trump would end up winning the state in an upset, becoming the first Republican since Ronald Reagan (R-CA) to do so. Wisconsin flipped back to Biden narrowly in 2020 and has since delivered a mixed slate of results. Democrats flipped the governorship in 2018 and narrowly retained it in 2022. They also flipped a seat on the State Supreme Court last year, giving control to the liberals on the bench.
However, Senator Ron Johnson (R) retained his Senate seat in 2022 against a well-funded opponent. Wisconsin is one of just five states that has a split U.S. Senate delegation, the lowest number since the direct election of Senators began in 1914.
On Tuesday night, Trump took 79.2% of the vote, winning seventy counties and all forty-one delegates. Marinette and Menominee counties have not reported results but are likely to go to Trump. Haley took 12.8% of the vote.
Biden won Wisconsin with 88.5% of the vote, with the “Uninstructed Delegate” option – similar to the “Uncommitted” option – taking 8.4% of the vote. Biden won seventy counties, with the aforementioned two likely to go to him when they report results, as well as seventy-nine of the eighty-two delegates available as of press time.
As of press time, Trump has accrued 1,723 delegates, to ninety-four for Haley. Biden has amassed 2,676 delegates, with the “Uncommitted” option holding at twenty-six. Long-shot candidate Jason Palmer (D-MD) has just three delegates from American Samoa, where he narrowly defeated Biden, making Biden the first incumbent president to lose a nominating contest since 1980.
The contest now moves to the Alaska Primary and Wyoming Caucus, both for Democrats, on April 13. Republicans will caucus in Wyoming on April 20, followed by a GOP primary in Puerto Rico on April 21.
In other election news, Republicans might get a slight breakthrough in a light-blue district in New England.
Congresswoman Annie Kuster (D, NH-02) recently announced her retirement from Congress and that she will not seek re-election in 2024. Kuster has represented New Hampshire’s Second Congressional District since 2013.
NH-02 is notably more Democratic than NH-01. NH-01 is centered around Manchester, Portsmouth, Rochester, and Laconia, and constitutes about half of the Maine border. Small cities, suburbs, and a mix of college-educated and working-class communities make NH-01 a swing seat, but Republicans have had bad luck here since 2016.
However, NH-02 is the larger seat of the pair and encompasses the entire western half of the state border with Vermont, the capital city of Concord, the college town of Hanover – home to Dartmouth – and the larger cities of Nashua, Keene, and Lebanon. Kuster defeated then-Congressman Charles Bass (R) in 2012, marking the last time the GOP has held this seat.
In a presidential year when New Hampshire at the very leans in Biden’s favor, NH-02 is likely to stay blue, but the open seat absent of a formidable incumbent gives them an outside chance to make a play for both of New Hampshire’s House seats.
State
A lawsuit has been filed against the previously-enacted legislation that moves New York’s local off-year elections to presidential and midterm even-year elections.
Onondaga County officials are moving to sue the state over the law, claiming it “blatantly violates” the state constitution, tramples “counties’ home rules rights,” would lead to ballot confusion, and would diminish “importance of local issues and elections in a crowded political campaign season.”
The suit points to a 1958 amendment to the state Constitution that enshrines counties’ home rule rights to conduct local business, which often includes elections.
Under the cloud of the holiday season, Hochul signed the legislation into law, saying that it is a “significant step towards expanding access to the ballot box and promoting a more inclusive democracy.”
Off-year elections include races for county executive, town supervisors, town boards, and other local posts that are often removed from the fatigue and fanfare of high-profile elections, such as those for president, Congress, and governor.
“The touted benefits of this bill are a total sham, concocted to hide the Democrat’s goal of expanding one-party control to every level of government,” state Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt (R-North Tonawanda) said of the legislation upon its passage.
Local
Congressman Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) (pictured right) recently announced the procurement of $3 million for the Village of Greenport for the Mitchell Park bulkhead replacement project.
The funding comes from the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations bill, which was recently enacted into law.
The funding will allow for the removal of the current 776-foot-long timber bulkhead in Mitchell Park and for the installation of a new vinyl bulkhead, which will help protect Greenport from flooding. The funding will also include a tie rod system for the new bulkhead. Recent inspections of the Mitchell Park Marina bulkhead showed that the current bulkhead is well past its useful life.
“I am delighted to announce the allocation of $3 million in federal funding for the Village of Greenport. This significant investment will facilitate the replacement of the aging Marina bulkhead at Mitchell Park, a critical measure aimed at safeguarding the Village against potential flooding and the risk of becoming a part of Greenport Harbor,” said LaLota. “Prioritizing the enhancement of Long Island’s infrastructure is paramount for stimulating economic advancement and elevating the well-being of our communities’ residents. I remain steadfast in my commitment to advocating for the needs of Suffolk County, and I will continue to champion initiatives aimed at bolstering our region in every possible capacity.”
“Greenport’s Mitchell Park Marina is an important NY tourist destination, providing easy access to the Village’s many restaurants, shops, galleries, and museums,” said Greenport Mayor Kevin Stuessi. “The Mitchell Park Marina Bulkhead Replacement federal funding secured by Rep. LaLota through the FY 2024 budget process will enable Greenport to proceed with this project essential to the continuing economic vitality of the Village and region while preserving waterfront access and the character of the community all of our residents and visitors.”
