In Wisconsin, voters made their choices for the Democratic and Republican nominees, but the outcome has no significant impact as Biden and Trump have already secured their party nominations.
Biden and Trump easily won the primaries in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, and Wisconsin, adding to their delegate counts for the party conventions in the summer.
Their wins, though not unexpected, give insights into the level of enthusiasm among base voters for the upcoming 2020 rematch, which has not excited the majority of Americans. Biden has faced opposition from activists urging Democrats to vote against him to express disapproval of his handling of the Israel-Hamas war, while some Republican Trump critics are still voting for candidates who have dropped out.
In Rhode Island and Connecticut, the “Uncommitted” option received a comparable portion of the Democratic vote as protest campaigns in Minnesota and Michigan, which received 19% and 13% respectively.
The results in Wisconsin, a crucial battleground for November, will provide indications of the proportion of Republicans who are still not fully supporting Trump and the number of Democrats who are disenchanted with Biden. Trump campaigned in Wisconsin and Michigan, two key states in the Midwest.
Scott Lindemann, a 62-year-old contractor in Kenosha, Wisconsin, who voted for Trump, remarked, “Donald Trump is the first person I can remember who actually tried to keep all of the promises that he made during the campaign. I was very impressed with that.”
Steve Wheatley, a 70-year-old registered Republican in New York, expressed a wish for more candidate options and voted for Nikki Haley despite knowing she had little chance due to the limited choices available.
Wheatley, a resident of Athens, a small town in the Hudson Valley, emphasized the need for younger candidates with fresh ideas to run for president. He prefers a Democrat but believes the choices are limited, citing Biden's performance regarding the economy.
Theresa Laabs, a 55-year-old cashier in Kenosha, voted for Biden in the Democratic primary despite feeling the financial strain from higher food and gasoline prices. She believes that Biden is working to address inflation.
Laabs emphasized the importance of the economy and expressed hope that Biden will continue to work diligently over the next four years to reduce economic burdens for working families.
Trump and Biden shifted their focus to the general election after Haley exited the GOP competition. Biden toured all the major battlegrounds following his State of the Union speech last month.
Biden and the Democratic National Committee have raised more funds than Trump and the Republicans. Biden set a new record for single-event fundraising last week, amassing $26 million at a star-studded New York event featuring influential figures from the entertainment world, along with former Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
Trump wants to outdo his opponent by hosting a fundraiser in Palm Beach, Florida, this weekend. He aims to raise $33 million.
As the presidential candidates secure their parties’ nominations, voter turnout was low in Rhode Island, with only 4% of eligible voters casting ballots by 5 p.m., including in-person, mail-in, and early votes.
In Connecticut, where early voting took place for the first time, the turnout was also slow. Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas mentioned that in some communities, only 1% to 2% voted by 11 a.m., while Stamford, one of the larger cities, had a 4% turnout. She stated that people had been saying that this primary isn't competitive.
