Super Tuesday – the day in March when more than a dozen states and territories hold their primary elections – has long had the power to reshape a presidential race.
But this year, Super Tuesday promises to answer pressing questions for voters across the country in 2024’s already complicated election cycle.
On the eve of the now-famous date, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is wrapping up a leg of her multi-state sprint. But Tuesday could be Haley’s last stand in challenging GOP frontrunner and former President Donald Trump for the White House.
And theirs is not the only race to watch this week.
This year, 15 states and one territory will host presidential primary elections on the first Tuesday in March. Voters will also help narrow the field of candidates in heated congressional contests, as well as the first gubernatorial primary in the competitive swing state of North Carolina.
Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide
Here’s what you need to know ahead of Super Tuesday.
What will Donald Trump do after Super Tuesday?
Since announcing his campaign in 2022, the former president has looked like a shoe-in for the Republican presidential nomination.
And while Super Tuesday can’t clench the spot for him – a nominee needs 1,215 delegates, and Trump will still be a handful short even if he sweeps the country – Tuesday could very well boost him closer to the finish line.
But despite his popularity with his conservative base, Trump would also likely need to tap into support from moderates and independents in a general election.
SCOTUS:Supreme Court rules Donald Trump can stay on Colorado ballot ahead of Super Tuesday.
Trump appeared to be starting that shift after his first primary election victory in January’s Iowa Caucuses.
“This is really time for our country to come together,” Trump said in his victory speech, after his historical win in the first-in-the-nation contest.
“It would be so nice if we could come together and straighten out the world and straighten out the problems,” he added.
Trump’s response to tomorrow’s outcome could once again give insight into his campaign strategy: Will he lean into right-wing voters or court more centrist Americans?
It could be the make-or-break factor in the 2024 general election. Recent polling shows the former president slightly ahead of President Joe Biden, his anticipated November opponent. But Democrats are hoping that Trump’s polarizing persona would help give Biden an edge with voters on the fence.
“We live in abnormal political times, but the American people are still normal people. Given a choice between normal and crazy, they’re going to choose normal,” Bruce Reed, a close aide to Biden, told the New Yorker.
Will Nikki Haley drop out?
The former South Carolina governor has repeatedly said she has no plans to drop out of the 2024 race for the White House. But Tuesday has the potential to deliver one of the heaviest blows to her campaign, and speculation has grown about her next steps.
Would she join the long list of Republicans who have dropped out of the race and backed Trump as nominee? Or will Haley, seen by many as a moderate alternative to a Biden-Trump rematch, launch a third-party run?
More:Nikki Haley says her movement is not anti-Trump. Many of her supporters say otherwise.
Haley continued to dodge the first question, defiantly telling Fox News Monday afternoon that they should ask Trump whether he would support another Republican nominee instead.
“I mean nobody’s asked him that,” Haley said in the interview. “Look, the convention’s not until July. There’s a lot of time.”
She also stuck to her previous assertions that she would not run a third-party campaign.
“I’m a conservative Republican. I always have been, I always will be,” Haley told Fox News. “I’m not going to do a third party, that’s not anything I’m interested in.”
Haley’s exact expectations for Super Tuesday remain unclear, however, along with her benchmark for carrying on her campaign. That hazy target could be intentional, as Trump is expected to clinch victory after victory on Tuesday.
“We’re going to do as much as we can. I want to be as competitive as we can,” Haley told CNN Monday. “We certainly have numbers that we’re hoping for, but we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
When asked what it would take to stay in the race, Haley said, “as long as we’re competitive.”
Who will advance in the California Senate race?
Tuesday will also determine which two candidates in the heated California Senate race will advance to the general election. California has a top-two primary system, meaning the two candidates who receive the most votes, regardless of party affiliation, will land on the ballot in November.
While Californians will choose from 27 candidates on Tuesday, the likely frontrunners are among three Democrats – California Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee – and one Republican, Steve Garvey, a former baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
A ‘jungle’ primary:Behind the chaos of the Super Tuesday 2024 California Senate race
The candidates are running to fill the seat vacated by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who died last year.
Polling from the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, last week found Garvey in a two-point lead over Schiff coming in at 27%. Schiff polled at 25% followed by Porter and Lee.
With the latest indicator, Garvey could upset the Senate race, which was expected to be a three-way fight among the progressive candidates.
First appeared on www.usatoday.com