US Elections 2024: Biden, Trump sweep primaries in Wisconsin, New York, and two other states

US President Joe Biden and his Republican rival Donald Trump on Tuesday (Apr 2) swept the presidential primaries in the states of Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.

As per Associated Press preliminary results, the two leaders who have already secured enough delegates to win their respective party's nominations for the 2024 US Presidential Elections emerged on top in the four states.

'Uncommitted'

As per the Guardian, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Wisconsin gave voters the option to choose "uncommitted" and express their displeasure against Biden's support for Israel in the ongoing war in Gaza. In Wisconsin, it was called "uninstructed delegation".

While voters in New York didn't have the ballot option, activists — including actor Mark Ruffalo known for playing Hulk in the popular Marvel movie franchise 'The Avengers' — have urged people to "Leave it blank", as a method of sending President Biden a message.

Preliminary results from AP show that in the Democratic Party primaries 11.5 per cent in Connecticut, and 14.9 per cent in Rhode Island availed the option. In the crucial battleground state of Wisconsin, 9.6 per cent voted 'uninstructed'.

For the Republican primaries, the uncommitted votes, when this report was published, stood at 2.2 per cent in Wisconsin, 2 per cent in Rhode Island, and 4.8 per cent in Connecticut.

The Wisconsin 'uninstructed delegation' result, as per the report, will be closely watched. There, progressive activists have launched a campaign encouraging voters to withhold support to show their displeasure with Biden's handling of the Gaza war.

Wooing women voters

As the general elections which are scheduled for November 2024 approach, the two frontrunners — Democrat candidate Joe Biden and Republican candidate Donald Trump, have sought to target issues important to women.

Biden is focusing on abortion rights. On Tuesday (Apr 2), one day after Florida's Supreme Court cleared the way for a six-week abortion ban, the Biden campaign launched a commercial promising to make Roe vWade "the law of the land again".

"I'm running to make Roe vWade the law of the land again, so women have a federal guarantee of the right to choose. Donald Trump doesn't trust women. I do," said Biden in the advertisement.

On the other hand, Trump is touting his popularity among suburban housewives.

"You know, the suburban housewives actually like Donald Trump. You know why? Because I'm the one that's going to keep them safe. They like to say, well, the suburban housewives, I don't know. I think I do great with the suburban housewives," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)