CINCINNATI — President Joe Biden on Tuesday easily won the Democratic primary in Ohio as he and former President Donald Trump prepare for a rematch of the 2020 election.
Biden won the Ohio primary, Decision Desk HQ projects. The only other candidate on the ballot was Dean Phillips, who dropped out earlier this month.
The 81-year-old is expected to also win his primaries in Arizona, Illinois and Kansas Tuesday night. Florida Democrats canceled their primary, instead electing to award all 224 of their delegates to Biden.
The president has faced few challenges in his bid for reelection, falling only to Jason Palmer in the American Samoa caucuses. On the Republican ballot, Trump is also expected to win handily in Ohio. His only defeat in the primaries has been in Vermont, where former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley won in a tight race.
Both Biden and Trump have already set their eyes on the general election, with Biden visiting Arizona and Nevada — two states that had close races in 2020 — on Tuesday. The president lost in Ohio during the 2020 election, nabbing only 45% of the vote to Trump's 53%.
Ohio has been consistently red in the past few elections. The last time a Democratic candidate for president won the Buckeye State was in 2012 when Barack Obama won with only 50.58% of the vote.
Still, the Associated Press reports that Ohio voters' decisions on abortion rights and legalizing marijuana show the state could be more competitive than previously believed.
The 2024 general election is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
