NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump's name will appear on the ballot Tuesday for the first time since his historic felony conviction as several states hold their final primaries for the 2024 Republican presidential field.
The former president will run in Republican primaries in Montana, New Jersey and New Mexico. Democratic front-runner President Joe Biden is running in the same states, as well as in Washington, D.C. and South Dakota.
Republicans in Washington held their party-run primary in March. South Dakota canceled its Republican presidential primary because it had no candidate challenging Trump.
Voters will also vote in primary elections for federal, state and local offices in those states.
As the last major candidates still in the race, Trump and Biden are both expected to win the race handily.
But as the November election approaches, the results could indicate voters are worried about their choices.
If Trump's margin of victory is narrower than expected, it could be a sign that voters are hesitant to nominate a presidential candidate with a felony conviction.
Trump's overwhelming primary victory was also overshadowed by the continuing support of a minority of Republican voters for former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, who withdrew from the race in March. Tuesday's contest will be Haley's first since she said two weeks ago that she would vote for Trump in November's election. It could be an indicator of whether Haley's supporters follow her lead.
Biden has faced protest votes in recent elections as Democrats unhappy with his handling of the Israeli-Hamas war seek to express their opposition. On Tuesday, organized campaigns were taking place in several states to vote “independent” in Democratic elections. In New Jersey's primary, many counties plan to write the word “independent” on their ballots above the phrase “Justice for Palestine! Permanent Ceasefire Now!”
After Tuesday, Democrats plan to hold two more caucuses on June 8 in Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands to conclude their 2024 primary calendar.
In addition to the presidential election, states will be holding federal and local primaries on Tuesday, with the most closely watched election being the Republican Senate race in Montana.
Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL, is up against two other candidates backed by President Trump and national Republican leaders. The winner will challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in what is expected to be one of the fiercest races for control of the House of Representatives.
Republicans will also choose a candidate to replace Rep. Matt Rosendale, who initially sought a Senate seat but dropped out after President Trump endorsed Sheehy.
In New Jersey, Democrats will select a candidate to replace scandal-plagued Sen. Bob Menendez, who is on trial in New York on federal corruption charges. Menendez decided not to run in the primary. He filed paperwork on Monday to run in the general election as an independent.
Rep. Andy Kim is considered the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination.
Vying for the GOP nomination are Republican fundraiser Curtis Bashaw, Navy veteran Albert Harshaw, former Tabernacle Vice Mayor Justin Murphy and Mendham Borough President Christine Serrano Glassner, who is endorsed by Trump.
Five Democrats are in the primary to represent Kim in the state's 3rd Congressional District, which is expected to remain Democratic in November.
Menendez's son, first-term Congressman Rob Menendez, faces a tough primary in New Jersey's 8th Congressional District against Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bara.
In New Mexico, Democrats hold all three of the state's House seats and only one primary will be held in the 1st Congressional District, where Republicans Louie Sanchez and Steve Jones are running against incumbent Rep. Melanie Stansberry in the Democratic-leaning district based in Albuquerque.
In Washington, voters will choose candidates in a primary for the city's nonvoting U.S. House of Representatives seat, and in Iowa, where the presidential election kicked off in January with the nation's first caucuses, voters will choose candidates in local elections and primaries for U.S. House seats, including one that could play a key role in determining control of the House.
Democrats in the Des Moines-area 3rd Congressional District will select a candidate to challenge first-term U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, a Republican who narrowly defeated the incumbent Democrat in 2022.
