Key races to watch on Super Tuesday

The most important date in the US primary calendar arrives on Tuesday 5 March as voters in 15 states and one territory get their chance to have their say on their preferred candidates for the presidency.

Residents of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia, plus American Samoa, will all be filling out their ballot papers on Super Tuesday.

As it stands, Donald Trump looks all but certain to be the Republican Party’s presidential nominee once again in 2024, having already chalked up big wins in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, the US Virgin Islands, South Carolina, Michigan, Idaho and Missouri primaries and had any doubts about his place on ballot papers dispelled by the US Supreme Court, which ruled on Monday that states have no authority to disqualify candidates.

All but one of Mr Trump’s challengers have long since fallen away, with only the well-funded but under-performing ex-UN ambassador Nikki Haley still swinging.

She did pick up a much-needed win in Washington DC’s primary on Sunday – her first of the season, beating Mr Trump by 62.3 per cent of the vote to his 33.3 per cent and scooping up 19 delegates in the process – but whether that will be enough to finally put some momentum behind her campaign remains to be seen.

The Democratic contest is even more one-sided, with President Joe Biden seemingly nailed-on to be his party’s candidate again as he seeks a second term in the White House, despite concerns about his advanced age and consistently poor polling.

But the presidential race is not the only contest voters will be weighing in on on Super Tuesday and some of the down-ballot races are likely to prove