The US state of Georgia is holding its primary election a week after Super Tuesday when Donald Trump (right) and Joe Biden (left) had near-clean sweeps (Picture: Getty Images/EPA)
The US state of Georgia is holding its primary election today, a week after President Joe Biden and ex-President Donald Trump had close to clean sweeps on Super Tuesday when 15 states held contests.
Following Super Tuesday, Trump’s main challenger, Republican long-shot candidate Nikki Haley, dropped out of the 2024 race. That essentially set up a rematch between Biden and Trump – but it is not official yet.
Why is at stake in the Georgia primary?
Georgia and three other US states having their primary elections on Tuesday are likely to award Trump enough delegates to clinch the GOP nomination for president.
The same goes for Biden, who appears set to earn the delegates he needs to clinch the Democratic nomination. Only then will the rematch between Biden and Trump be official.
Ex-President Donald Trump narrowly lost Georgia in the 2020 election (Picture: Getty Images)
Why is Georgia a key state ahead of the general election?
Georgia was a crucial state in the 2020 general election and is again a battleground state. Four years ago, Biden was the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the Peach State since 1992, and carried it by less than a quarter of a percentage point.
Biden’s narrow victory led Trump to launch an effort to overturn the election results. Trump’s actions, including personally asking Georgia officials to find votes for him to win, resulted in an ongoing Fulton County criminal case against him.
Biggest delegate prize
Georgia is not the only state with a contest today. Mississippi, Washington, the Northern Mariana Islands and Democrats Abroad which is the official arm of the party for Americans outside the US have their primaries. In addition, Hawaii will hold a Republican caucus.
President Joe Biden is expected to clinch the Democratic nomination on Tuesday (Picture: AP)
But Georgia is the only swing state and has the biggest number of delegates at stake, with 59 pledged Republican delegates and 108 pledged Democratic delegates.
When are the results expected?
The polls in Georgia will close at 7pm ET. The first results may trickle in shortly after that.
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