Virginia voters will head to the polls next week on Super Tuesday

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Super Tuesday is next week on March 5, with voters around the country taking to the polls to vote for Republican or Democratic candidates for the presidential primary election.

Jesse Richman, Ph.D., is an associate professor of political science and international studies at Old Dominion University. Richman shared his insights going into next week’s election at the Digital Desk. Watch the livestream conversation in the video player on this page.

Virginia presidential primary one month away

“Voting is a great privilege and it’s a wonderful thing to do,” Richman said. “It’s our our chance as voters to have our say.”

Voters will cast a ballot for the future presidential candidates for the 2024 general election. Some have already voted early. In-person early voting ends at 5 p.m. Saturday, March 2.

Early voting in your city for the March 5 Presidential Primary

Click here to view the ballots for both the Democratic and Republican primary elections.

“Nikki Haley is the last serious opponent to Donald Trump standing in the Republican primary,” Richman said. “She’s had money flow in her campaign, so she’s had resources. But, she’s not been able to transfer those resources into winning any primaries at this point.”

Right now, former President Donald Trump has 110 delegates while former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has 20.

Michigan will hold its primary elections Tuesday. Richman said her polling does not look good.

According to Richman, Super Tuesday is the last big opportunity for voters here in Virginia and nationwide to decide who they want as the Republican presidential candidate.

On Super Tuesday, about a third of overall delegates will be awarded.

“So, this is a critical time period for Haley,” Richman said. “For her to continue the campaign past Super Tuesday, she has to win some states. She has to really accumulate some delegates.”

If she does not, this could be the last week of the Haley campaign.

“We’re still early days in terms of the delegate count,” Richman said. “It’s much more about momentum and about the narrative, and so forth, but none of that looks good for Haley either.”

Richman said for the people that say they do not want a Trump-Biden matchup, Super Tuesday is the last chance to vote for other candidates. Otherwise, there will be a rematch.

In the Commonwealth, voters have the option to participate in either primary. It is an open primary state.

One possible hope for Haley is for independents, and even some Democrats, to cross party lines in primary elections, which is possible in the Commonwealth.

“In Virginia, for instance, there really isn’t any party registration,” Richman said. “People can choose when they show up on Election Day which primary to vote for.”

Richman spoke about the Commonwealth as an open primary state and discussed how Virginians will votes. Hear his analysis in the clip below.

This month, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) expressed concern for foreign interference in the presidential election.

“We could be in a huge amount of trouble,” Warner said. “Particularly, as I continue to worry that we may be looking at the perfect storm in terms of foreign interference in our elections this year.”

He is concerned we are less prepared today than we were four years ago, naming countries like China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. He added that Russia has a lot to gain by interfering in the election and undermining support for Ukraine.

Richman expects the United States election to be consequential for the world and foreign actors.

“There are real divisions in U.S. politics over foreign policy,” Richman said. “Trump and Biden represent divisions in the way the U.S. will conduct itself in world affairs. People and leaders and governments around the world will try to influence what happens.”

In this election cycle, AI is another present external factor.

Recently, robocalls were reported in New Hampshire that impersonate President Biden.

AI-generated robocall impersonates Biden in an apparent attempt to suppress votes in New Hampshire

“As voters, all of us need to be increasingly cognizant of the ways AI is making it incredibly easier to fake things,” Richman said.

Richman discusses AI technology and foreign interference in elections in the video clip, below.

The Virginia presidential primary election will take place Tuesday, March 5. Stay updated with the latest information on WAVY.com and on WAVY-TV 10.

Click here to view more coverage from Your Local Election Headquarters

Find out more information about the upcoming election by watching the full Digital Desk livestream in the video player on this page.

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