On Super Tuesday, people vote in the most significant national election day before the presidential election in November. In the Democratic primaries, Joe Biden beat every democratic candidate in the primaries except in American Samoa. Jason Palmer was the victor in this US territory. With a total of 91 ballots on the islands, Palmer took home the majority of 51, whereas Biden won 40.
Jason Palmer is one of the few opponents in the Democratic primary. After his win, he urged Biden to pass the power to the younger generation. He said, “We’re not going to win by just saying don’t vote for Trump. Americans need a positive, optimistic vision of the future. And that’s what I’m offering.”
He had never visited the islands before the election but campaigned virtually to understand the citizens’ needs and wants.
Despite this surprising outcome, American Samoa only had six delegates, with Biden and Palmer each taking 3. This did not derail Biden’s campaign, but it did put him in more of the spotlight.
This election sheds light on the impact of the more than 3 million citizens in the five territories. Despite being tax-paying citizens, they cannot vote in the actual presidential election voting for representatives or senators in the US Congress. However, this result has pushed this territory into media attention. Though this election may seem like an outlier, American Samoa has a history of voting for candidates who are not the national favorites in the Presidential Primaries. In the 2020 election, Michael Bloomberg won by a majority of 49.9%, beating out other top candidates like Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren.
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