FILE – This combo image shows Republican presidential candidates former President Donald Trump, left, March 9, 2024, and President Joe Biden, right, January 27, 2024. (AP photo, file)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Missouri and Louisiana will hold presidential primaries on Saturday, giving President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump another chance to attract delegates.
Biden will run in the Democratic primaries in both states. The Missouri Republican Party has already held its caucuses on March 2, so Republicans will only be voting in Louisiana.
None of the races are suspenseful. Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump have already secured their party's nomination and defeated their main rivals. But the primaries are still being closely watched by insiders for signs of turnout and protest voters.
In response to Biden, some liberals have expressed anger over Israel's war with Hamas in the wake of the extremist group's Oct. 7 attack. More than 30,000 people are reported to have been killed by Gaza authorities since Israel began its offensive, two-thirds of them women and children. The protests started by Michigan's Arab American community have spread to several other states.
Mr. Trump is a powerful figure in his party and has secured the Republican nomination for the third consecutive year. But he ended this shortly after the January 6 riots, fueled by his supporters and those concerned about the untold legal jeopardy he faced, and fueled by false theories of election fraud. He faces opposition from critics of his tenure in the White House.
Saturday's primary will be the first party-led presidential election for Missouri Democrats since the new law took effect in August 2022. Meanwhile, Louisiana's primary election will be held for the first time in nearly four years after the state first postponed its primary due to the coronavirus pandemic. .
