AP Decision Notes: What to expect in the March 12 presidential contests

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — Super Tuesday put former President Donald Trump within reach of clinching his third consecutive Republican presidential nomination, but it may be Republican voters in Georgia, Hawaii, Mississippi and Washington who put him over the top.

The four states have a combined 161 delegates at stake on Tuesday, and Trump will need to win the lion’s share of them in order to become the presumptive nominee. But with his main rival for the nomination, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, no longer in the race, there are no remaining obstacles in his way.

President Joe Biden also won hundreds of delegates on Super Tuesday and could officially clinch the nomination on Tuesday.

media allocated delegates from Delaware and Florida to Biden on Friday, as both states have canceled their Democratic presidential primaries, with all their delegates going to the sitting president. With that allocation, Biden’s first possible date to clinch moves up to March 12, when he needs to win just 40% of the available delegates to do so.

Biden will be on the primary ballots in three states on Tuesday, Georgia, Mississippi and Washington. The date will also mark the conclusion of party-run contests in the Northern Mariana Islands and Democrats Abroad, an organization of Democratic U.S. citizens who live in other countries. Democrats Abroad functions like a state for the purposes of the presidential nomination process.

Biden will face self-help author Marianne Williamson in four contests. He will also face a rematch with Democrat Jason Palmer in the Northern Marianas primary. Palmer unexpectedly won a 91-person vote in American Samoa on Super Tuesday, picking up three delegates along the way. “Uncommitted” has also won delegates in Michigan, Minnesota and Hawaii and will be on the ballot Tuesday in Washington.

Mississippi is the only state on Tuesday that will hold primaries for state offices. U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker is the front-runner in his Republican primary for another term. Republican primaries are also on the ballot in the second and fourth congressional districts, while a Democratic primary is on the ballot in the first congressional district.

Here are the March 12 contests at a glance:

Tuesday’s presidential primaries are unlikely to be competitive, as Biden and Trump face no major opposition in their campaigns for renomination. In Georgia, Hawaii, Mississippi and Washington, the first indications that Biden and Trump are winning statewide on a level consistent with the overwhelming margins seen in most other contests held so far this year may be sufficient to determine the statewide winners. In the Democrats Abroad and Northern Mariana Islands party-run Democratic primaries, the party organizations are expected to provide complete results and delegate allocations.

The news agencies does not make projections 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 news agencies will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the news agencies will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

Democrats: 254

Republicans: 161

Georgia, Hawaii (Republican only), Mississippi, Washington

Northern Mariana Islands (Democrats only), Democrats Abroad (Democrats only)

Mississippi

STATE-RUN PRIMARIES (3): Georgia, Mississippi, Washington

PARTY-RUN PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE VOTES AND CAUCUSES (2): Northern Mariana Islands, Democrats Abroad

STATE-RUN PRIMARIES (3): Georgia, Mississippi, Washington

PARTY-RUN PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE VOTES AND CAUCUSES (1): Hawaii

4 a.m. EDT: Last polls close in Northern Mariana Islands