The president of the United States, Democrat Joe Biden, and former Republican president Donald Trump (2017-2021) reached this Tuesday the magic number of delegates necessary to mathematically declare themselves their parties’ candidates for the White House. Biden’s victory came just ten minutes after they closed, at 7:00 p.m. local time (23:00 GMT), the electoral colleges of the state of Georgia, which provided him with the necessary delegates to catapult him above the 1,968 he needed to secure the candidacy.

Meanwhile, Trump had to wait almost until the end of the night to declare his victory. It was the state of Washington, which closed its polling stations at 8:00 p.m. local time (3:00 GMT on Wednesday), which allowed him to overcome the threshold of 1,215 delegates necessary to once again become the Republican presidential nominee. However, despite having mathematically become the nominees for the White Houseboth Biden and Trump will have to wait for their party conventions to officially proclaim themselves candidates for the November elections.

The Republican convention will take place from July 15 to 18 in Milwaukee (Wisconsin), while the democratic quote will take place in Chicago (Illinois) dAugust 19 to 22. A key election night This Tuesday’s election day lacked the shine traditionally given to Super Tuesday, celebrated on March 5 and considered the most important day of the United States presidential primaries as it is when 14 of the 50 states of the United States vote. country. Tonight was a “mini” Super Tuesday of sorts, with victories for Biden and Trump in both parties’ primaries in Georgia, Mississippi, and Washington.

Democrats also held primaries in the Pacific territory of the Northern Mariana Islands, where Biden won the six delegates in dispute. Meanwhile, Republicans met in Hawaii to vote in ‘caucuses’ or neighborhood assemblies, from which there are still no results. Of special importance were the primaries in the state of Georgia, where Trump and Biden campaigned this Saturday in rallies that were held almost simultaneously and less than 100 kilometers apart. Georgia is one of the six key states which will decide the outcome in November along with North Carolina, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Furthermore, victory there could come by a handful of votes, as happened in 2020 when Biden beat Trump by a margin of 0.23%. The big prize in that state are independent voters or those with more moderate ideas, who will be the main objective of both candidates heading into November. With Biden and Trump mathematically becoming candidates, An intense electoral campaign now begins eight months that promises to be especially angry, with both exchanging attacks to wear down the opponent.

As soon as he obtained the Democratic nomination, Biden issued a statement thanking voters for their support and considering that “the threat posed by the former president is greater than ever.” The president accused his opponent of being “carrying out a campaign of hate, revenge and retaliation” that threatens freedom and democracy itself, comparing the current moment with the American civil war. For his part, in a video broadcast on the X network, Trump described election day as “a great day of victory.”

“But now we have to get back to work because we have the worst president in history. His name is Joe Biden, sometimes called corrupt Biden, and he must be defeated“, stressed the Republican leader in the recording. Despite everything, the path to the elections will not be easy for anyone: the former president faces four trials and 91 criminal charges, while Biden will have to deal with issues about his age, since at 81 years is the oldest president of the United States, in addition to international crises in Gaza and Ukraine.