In Pennsylvania, a key U.S. state, former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden have demonstrated their dominance within their respective parties with landslide victories in the primaries.
Both candidates have shown huge support ratings against opponents who have withdrawn from the race, setting the stage for what is expected to be a hotly contested general election.
According to British media on April 24, Trump's victory in the Republican primary was decisive, as he defeated his former rival Nikki Haley with a staggering 83% of the vote.
However, Nikki Haley was able to garner more than 155,000 votes despite dropping out of the race a few weeks ago, highlighting the divisions that still exist within Republican voters.
Earlier this month, in Republican primaries in Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York, Haley received at least 10 percent of the vote in each of those four states. At the same time, her refusal to support Trump underscores the challenges the former president faces in consolidating support within his party.
Still, Mr. Trump has shown little interest in winning Haley's support and has rarely tried to reach out to her supporters.
"The risk for Donald Trump is that people are unhappy, which causes them not to vote," Irma Flalik, co-chair of the Nikki Women's Organization and a Pennsylvania resident, told The New York Times last month. "I think I represent a lot of people, and we're very frustrated that we have Biden and Trump to choose from. ”
In the Democratic camp, Biden's victory was equally remarkable, winning with nearly 95 percent of the vote in his home state.
His strong performance reaffirmed his strong foothold in Pennsylvania's Democratic Party base, in stark contrast to the challenges he faced in other swing states.
While Biden has faced protest votes in states like Michigan, particularly in the handling of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, his overwhelming support in Pennsylvania bodes well for his re-election prospects.
The primaries also provided insight into key downstream elections, especially in the race between progressive Democrat Summer Lee and moderate challenger Bavini Patel.
While Lee has been criticized for her stance on Israel's military operation in Gaza, her victory shows that the Democratic Party's critical attitude toward the conflict is shifting significantly. Lee's landslide victory shows that there is growing support among Democratic voters for a more critical attitude toward Israeli actions, reflecting the evolution of Democratic voters' attitudes.
In the high-profile Senate race, Republican David McCormick won the primary, setting the stage for a high-stakes battle between him and incumbent Democratic Senator Bob Casey.
McCormick's victory without an opponent in this primary marks a revenge in the 2022 Senate primary, when he lost behind the backs of former President Trump's backing rival, Memet Oz. Trump's support for Oz narrowly won in 2022, but his support for McCormick this time underscores the Republican Party's unified stance on Casey.
As Pennsylvania prepares for a general election, all eyes are on these pivotal elections that could determine the balance of power in Washington.
With Trump and Biden demonstrating their dominance in the primaries and key downstream campaigns providing a glimpse into shifting political dynamics, November's election battle will be a tight contest.