By Robert Yoon, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Voters in the crucial swing state of Wisconsin and three Northeastern states will have an opportunity to show their support or opposition to their parties’ expected nominees in presidential primaries Tuesday. Wisconsin voters will also determine the fate of two Republican-supported statewide ballot measures that will impact how elections in the state are managed and financed.
Further south, Arkansas and Mississippi voters will go back to the polls to decide a few legislative seats that went to runoffs in primaries held in March.
Even though multiple names are still on the presidential ballots in Wisconsin, Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump do not have significant challengers and have already secured more delegates than necessary to win their parties’ nominations at the conventions this summer. Voters in Connecticut and Rhode Island will also have the option of voting “uncommitted” if they wish to express a protest vote against Biden, a Democrat, or Trump, a Republican. Wisconsin voters have a similar option, although it’s labeled “Uninstructed Delegation” on their ballot.
Delaware was also supposed to hold a Republican presidential primary on Tuesday, but the contest was canceled on March 19 after former candidate Nikki Haley had her name taken off the ballot, leaving Trump as the only remaining candidate. A Democratic primary would also have been held in Delaware on Tuesday, but Biden was the only candidate to file for the ballot, so the event was never scheduled. In both cases, the parties gave all the state’s delegates to Biden and Trump, as they were the only candidates left in the competition.
DECISION NOTES
In the presidential race, Biden and Trump are expected to win in their primaries since neither candidate faces a strong challenge. In all four contests, the first indications that they are winning statewide on a level consistent with the overwhelming margins seen in most other contests held this year may be enough to determine the statewide winners.
For the Wisconsin constitutional amendments, the divisions align closely with traditional partisan lines, with Republican state lawmakers supporting the two measures and Democrats in opposition. Therefore, the state’s voting history and political demographics will guide the race-calling process.
As for the races in Arkansas and Mississippi, runoffs are usually lower-turnout events compared to the initial elections that led to them. For local races, where turnout for regularly scheduled elections is already relatively low, this could slow the race-calling process in particularly close contests as determining the outcome could depend on a small number of votes. For example, in Arkansas state House District 63, only 108 votes separated the first- and second-place candidates, out of 1,700 total votes cast.
The Associated Press does not make predictions and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make it clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.
These are the April 2 elections summarized:
DELEGATES UP FOR GRABS ON TUESDAY
Democrats: 436
Republicans: 179
STATES HOLDING PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES (4)
Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, Wisconsin
STATES WITH NON-PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES AND ELECTIONS (3)
Arkansas (runoff), Mississippi (runoff), Wisconsin
TUESDAY SCHEDULE
8 p.m. EDT: All polls close in Connecticut, Mississippi, Rhode Island
8:30 p.m. EDT: All polls close in Arkansas
9 p.m. EDT: All polls close in New York, Wisconsin
ARKANSAS
PRIMARY RUNOFF FOR STATE HOUSE, DISTRICT 35 (D): Jessie McGruder, Raymond Whiteside
PRIMARY RUNOFF FOR STATE HOUSE, DISTRICT 63 (D): Fred Leonard, Lincoln Barnett
PRIMARY RUNOFF FOR STATE HOUSE, DISTRICT 88 (R): Arnetta Bradford, Dolly Henley
ELIGIBLE VOTERS: Voters who took part in the March 5 primary for a specific seat can only vote in the same party’s runoff for that seat. In other words, voters who cast ballots in the Republican primary on March 5 may not vote in a Democratic runoff for the same seat. Voters who did not take part in any party’s primary for a specific seat on March 5 may also take part in the runoff. All voters must be registered in the district holding the runoff.
EARLIEST VOTES REPORTED (March 5 primary): 8:36 p.m. ET
FINAL ELECTION NIGHT UPDATE: 3:28 a.m. ET with about 99.7% of the total votes counted
CONNECTICUT
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY (D): Biden, Dean Phillips, Marianne Williamson, Cenk Uygur, “Uncommitted.” 60 delegates at stake
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY (R): Trump, Ryan Binkley, Ron DeSantis, Haley, “Uncommitted.” 28 delegates at stake
ELIGIBLE VOTERS: Only voters registered with a party may participate in that party’s primary. Democrats can’t vote in the Republican primary or vice versa.
EARLIEST VOTES REPORTED (2022 primaries): 8:08 p.m. ET
FINAL ELECTION NIGHT UPDATE: 12:52 a.m. ET with about 99.9% of the total votes counted
MISSISSIPPI
U.S. HOUSE PRIMARY RUNOFF, DISTRICT 2 (R): Ron Eller, Andrew Smith
ELIGIBLE VOTERS: Voters who took part in the March 12 primary for District 2 may only vote in the same party’s runoff. In other words, voters who cast ballots in the Democratic primary on March 12 may not vote in Tuesday’s Republican runoff. Voters who did not take part in any party’s primary for this seat on March 12 also may participate in the runoff. All voters must be registered in the 2nd Congressional District.
EARLIEST VOTES REPORTED (March 12 primary): 8:07 p.m. ET
FINAL ELECTION NIGHT UPDATE: 12:35 a.m. ET with about 97% of the total votes counted
NEW YORK
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY (D): Biden, Dean Phillips, Marianne Williamson. 268 delegates at stake
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY (R): Trump, Chris Christie, Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy. 91 delegates at stake
ELIGIBLE VOTERS: New York has a closed primary system, which means only Democrats may vote in the Democratic primary and only Republicans may vote in the Republican primary.
EARLIEST VOTES REPORTED (2022 primaries): 9:01 p.m. ET
FINAL ELECTION NIGHT UPDATE: 2:49 a.m. ET with about 94% of the total votes counted
RHODE ISLAND
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY (D): Biden, Dean Phillips, “Uncommitted,” Write-in. 26 delegates at stake
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY (R): Trump, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, “Uncommitted,” Write-in. 19 delegates at stake
WHO IS ALLOWED TO VOTE: In Rhode Island, voters who are registered with a certain political party can only vote in that party's primaries. Voters not affiliated with any party can vote in any party's primary, but this will make them affiliated with that party in the state records.
EARLIEST REPORTED VOTES (2022 primaries): 8:10 p.m. ET
LATEST UPDATE ON ELECTION NIGHT: 11:03 p.m. ET with approximately 97% of all votes counted
WISCONSIN
PRIMARY FOR PRESIDENT (D): Candidates include Biden, Dean Phillips, “Uninstructed Delegation,” Write-In. 82 delegates are up for grabs
PRIMARY FOR PRESIDENT (R): Candidates include Trump, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, “Uninstructed Delegation,” Write-In. 41 delegates are at stake
STATEWIDE BALLOT MEASURE, QUESTION 1: “Use of private funds in election administration. Should a new section be added to the constitution to prohibit the use of private donations and grants in connection with any primary, election, or referendum?”
STATEWIDE BALLOT MEASURE, QUESTION 2: “Election officials. Should a new section be added to the constitution to specify that only election officials designated by law may perform tasks in the conduct of primaries, elections, and referendums?”
WHO IS ALLOWED TO VOTE: Any registered voter in Wisconsin can take part in either primary.
EARLIEST REPORTED VOTES (2022 primaries): 9:14 p.m. ET
LATEST UPDATE ON ELECTION NIGHT: 3:01 a.m. ET with about 99.8% of all votes counted
UNCOMMITTED ON THE BALLOT
Connecticut, Rhode Island, Wisconsin (as “Uninstructed Delegation”)
ARE WE THERE YET?
As of Tuesday, there will be 104 days until the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, 139 days until the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and 217 days until the November general election.
ROBERT YOON is an elections and democracy reporter for The Associated Press, with a focus on analyzing vote and demographic data and explaining the intricacies of the electoral process. He is now covering his seventh presidential campaign cycle.
