VIRGINIA, USA — Tuesday is Virginia's 2024 presidential primary, where Democrats and Republicans across the Commonwealth will pick the candidates they want to face off in the November general election.
The November presidential race is shaping up to be a rematch between Democratic President Joe Biden and former Republican President Donald Trump. But the frontrunners are facing challengers that could reveal their weaknesses going into the November election.
Here are five things to know about Virginia's 2024 presidential primary.
Virginia is one of 15 Super Tuesday states
Virginia is one of 15 states, along with American Samoa, participating in Super Tuesday, when the highest number of states hold presidential primary elections all on the same day.
The outcome will likely indicate the frontrunner for each party's presidential nomination since hundreds of delegates needed to win the presidential nomination will be up for grabs.
How many delegates does Virginia have?
On the Republican side, 854 of 2,429 will be at stake on Super Tuesday, while Democrats will award 1,420 delegates, according to the Associated Press (AP). Nobody will lock up the nomination on Super Tuesday, but each party’s frontrunner can get pretty close.
Of Virginia's Super Tuesday delegates, Republicans have 48, while Democrats have 99, according to Politico. For Republicans, whichever candidate gets 1,215 delegates or more nationally will become the presumptive presidential nominee, while the Democratic threshold is 1,969.
Trump, Biden are expected to win Virginia
Going into Super Tuesday, Biden and Trump have dominated the Democratic and Republican primary and caucus calendars in several states. A new poll from the Roanoke College suggests the same outcome in Virginia's primary.
The poll found that Trump has a massive 75% lead in the Republican primary, followed by former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley at 15% and 8% for someone else.
Trump has won all but one of the primary elections and caucuses leading up to Super Tuesday, including Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Michigan. Haley, who is the only remaining challenger to Trump, notched her first victory Sunday in the Washington, D.C., presidential primary.
Biden's primary challengers are U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips and self-help author Marianne Williamson, but they've only garnered a small amount of support in the primary elections so far.
Presidential primaries are 'open'; voters don't register by party
Virginia has open primaries and doesn't have party registration. Anyone registered to vote can vote in either primary, but no one is allowed to vote in both primaries.
When you go to vote, you'll pick which primary you want to participate in and vote accordingly. While the official deadline to register to vote was Feb. 12, people can register after this date through Election Day, and vote by provisional ballot.
If you're not sure whether or not you are a registered voter, you can check Virginia voter registration status as well as find your polling place and apply for absentee voting by mail on the Virginia Department of Elections Citizen Portal.
Looking ahead, will Virginia be competitive in November?
The Democratic candidate has won Virginia in every presidential election since 2004, most recently with Biden's 10-point victory over Trump in 2020, and has trended Democratic in other statewide and federal elections in recent years. But the upset Republican victories in the 2021 elections for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general may have put Virginia back on the map as a swing state.
The Roanoke College poll found that Biden is leading Trump 47 to 43%, much closer than the 2020 result in Virginia. If Haley were to become the Republican nominee, she would lead Biden 49% to 40%.
Despite the close polling, Sabato's Crystal Ball, an election forecaster based out of the UVA Center for Politics, lists Virginia as a "Likely Democratic" state in the November election. A similar forecaster, the Cook Political Report, ranks Virginia as "Solid Democratic."
Whoever wins Virginia in November will get 13 votes in the Electoral College; 270 are needed to win the presidency.
Where can I find the Virginia primary results?
WUSA9 will have continuing coverage on air during all normall scheduled broadcasts and online all day Tuesday. We will also have a special report on our streaming platforms starting at 7 p.m.
Find county-by-county results after polls close below.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.