Trump wins primaries in five more states

The former US president faced virtually no opposition as all other main Republican candidates have dropped out of the race

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has easily won the GOP primaries in five more states, with incumbent US leader Joe Biden doing the same for the Democrats as the pair moved further toward a rematch in November’s presidential election.   

Trump scored landslide victories on Tuesday in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Ohio, securing the support of all the delegates.   

He faced little opposition as all of his high-profile Republican rivals, including former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, have already dropped out of the race.   

With the exception of Haley, who has stated that Trump must “earn” the backing of her voters, all of the previous Republican hopefuls have endorsed the former president.

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Biden and Trump secure nominations

Trump had already secured the support of a majority of delegates last week, making him the presumptive GOP nominee for the November vote.   

Biden made similar strides in the Democratic primaries on Tuesday, securing the support of all the delegates in the same five states. In Florida, the incumbent leader was the only candidate on the ballot.   

Like Trump, Biden has already won enough delegates to become his party’s presumptive nominee, facing almost no opposition within the Democrats. While both candidates have essentially locked up their respective nominations, they are expected to be formally selected at the Republican National Convention in July and the Democratic National Convention in late August.   

The US presidential election will be held on November 5. According to the latest Morning Consult survey, Trump and Biden are tied among registered voters, with each receiving 43% of support. However, a February Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll found Biden trailing his rival in seven swing states – Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada and Wisconsin.