What’s at stake on Super Tuesday
Millions of voters in 15 states cast their ballots on Super Tuesday, one of the most important dates in the US political calendar.
It’s the day of the presidential primary cycle when most states vote, and it will bring the race closer to a White House rematch in November between President Biden and Donald Trump. It will almost certainly be a blow to Nikki Haley, Trump’s Republican challenger.
Results will start soon after this newsletter is sent. Here is the latest.
Trump is seeking to bounce Haley out of the race. Recent polls in Texas and California – the states that will award the most delegates on Tuesday – show him with a wide lead.
For Biden, who has no major challengers, observers are watching the turnout and popularity of the “unaffiliated” ballot option as a protest vote in states like Minnesota.
While it’s hard to make reliable predictions about the general election based on the primaries, my colleague Maggie Astor, who covers the primaries, said the contests would give us signs for the coming months.
“Aspects of the Super Tuesday results — including how close Nikki Haley is to Trump, how many people voted in protest against Biden, and how high the turnout is — could provide some indication of how united and enthusiastic the Democrats are and Republican Parties,” he said.
Record: The US primary system can be difficult to understand, even for Americans. It is not a direct vote. Instead, states award delegates — people who will vote for the party’s nominee during the summer caucuses — based on primary results. To be the Republican nominee this year, for example, a candidate will need to win a majority of 2,429 delegates. By the time Super Tuesday is over, 1,151 of the total will have been allocated.
Do Americans have ‘collective amnesia’? It’s only been three years, but memories of Trump’s presidency have faded and changed quickly.
Can China achieve its growth goal?
China’s top leaders have announced an ambitious economic growth target of around 5% this year. It will be hard for them to pull it off.
China’s economy is being hit by a property crisis, loss of consumer confidence and financial pressures from over-indebted local governments. However, Beijing did not announce major spending increases to help local government, measures to revive the property market or moves to boost consumer confidence. With leaders lacking action, economists and investors are skeptical.
“It’s a surprisingly unrealistic set of goals,” said one Chinese researcher.
But there is money for the army: Leaders plan to increase spending by 7.2 percent in 2024, to about $231 billion. (That’s the same rate of increase as last year, and continues a decades-long expansion.) China also plans to increase spending on science and technology research by 10 percent.
Russia has stepped up its air campaign
Ukraine’s war has been largely fought on the ground for the past two years, but as the Russian military continues its offensive in the east, its air force has taken on a bigger role. Military analysts say Russia is increasingly using warplanes near the front lines to drop powerful guided bombs on Ukrainian positions and open a path forward for infantry.
The strategy helped Russia make gains in eastern Ukraine, but also gave Kiev’s military more opportunities to shoot down their planes.
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ARTS AND IDEAS
Yamamoto wins the Pritzker Prize
Riken Yamamoto, a Japanese architect, creates distinctive buildings meant to inspire social connection and openness. He just won the Pritzker Prize, architecture’s highest honor.
He has designed family homes without exterior walls, public buildings made of transparent glass and connected by terraces, and a fire station that allows passers-by to watch firefighters train.
The Pritzker jury said his designs enabled people to shape their lives within his buildings with elegance, regularity, poetry and joy.
