AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Mississippi’s presidential and state primaries

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has his hopes set that Republican voters in Mississippi and three other states will push him over the top Tuesday night in his quest to clinch his party’s presidential nomination for the third election in a row.

Further down the ballot are a handful of primaries for the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House. Republican incumbent Roger Wicker is seeking a fourth full term in the Senate and is the favorite to win his primary against two opponents. Republican primaries are also on the ballot in the 2nd and 4th Congressional Districts, while a Democratic primary is on the ballot in the 1st Congressional District.

Trump won hundreds of delegates on Super Tuesday, pushing him within reach of becoming the presumptive nominee, but he’ll need the bulk of the 161 delegates at stake in Mississippi, Georgia, Hawaii and Washington to close the deal. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley dropped out of the race this week and is no longer competing for Mississippi’s 40 delegates, but her name will still appear on the ballot.

There’s much less drama in the Democratic presidential primary. For starters, President Joe Biden is the only option on the ballot in Mississippi. And while Biden also won big on Super Tuesday, because of how the party’s nomination process and primary calendar are structured, the earliest he can clinch the nomination is March 19.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Third-party movement No Labels says it will field a