Joe Biden has lost the American Samoa Democratic primary to the little-known candidate Jason Palmer, becoming the first incumbent president to lose a primary since Jimmy Carter in 1980.
Palmer’s surprising victory tarnished an otherwise perfect night for Biden, during which he scored a string of primary wins across the U.S.
Out of the 91 ballots cast in the American Samoa primary, Palmer, a Maryland resident, won 51 versus 40 for Biden. Only six delegates were at stake, with Palmer taking four, and Biden two.
In an interview with CNN early on Wednesday, Palmer urged Biden to “pass the torch to the next generation of Americans” and claimed America is “sleepwalking into a Trump election.”
He added: “I’m running to energize young voters and also center-left, center-right people with a positive vision of what we can do in the next four years.
“If Joe Biden’s just talking about Donald Trump and he’s just talking about foreign policy and foreign wars, that’s not going to win in November. You got to have a clear, positive agenda.”
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley defeated Republican frontrunner Donald Trump in Vermont, stopping him from pulling off a Super Tuesday clean sweep.
This is a breaking story. More to follow.
Jason Palmer’s surprising victory tarnished Joe Biden’s otherwise perfect night, during which he chalked up primary victories across the nation.
Jason Palmer’s surprising victory tarnished Joe Biden’s otherwise perfect night, during which he chalked up primary victories across the nation.
Nathan Howard/Getty
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.