Biden lost the American Samoa caucuses to Jason Palmer, a largely unknown businessman
The island territory showed once again that it was OK bucking the rest of the party, though this time it handed Biden some embarrassment.
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- President Joe Biden narrowly lost the American Samoa Democratic caucuses.
- Biden lost to a largely unknown challenger named Jason Palmer.
- The loss won't derail his reelection campaign, but it is a lackluster result.
President Joe Biden is projected to have lost the American Samoa Democratic caucuses to a largely unknown challenger named Jason Palmer, a lackluster result on a night when the sitting president easily romped through the rest of Super Tuesday.
According to the Associated Press, out of the 91 votes cast in the territory's caucuses, Biden carried 40 and Palmer won 51. Palmer is now expected to get four delegates to the Democratic National Convention. This is Biden's first loss of the 2024 Democratic primary and caucus season.
Democrats on the island have shown a tendency to defy the candidate of the moment. Billionaire Michael Bloomberg famously only carried American Samoa in 2020, despite spending $500 million on his campaign.
The result won't derail Biden's chances by any stretch of the imagination. Still, it shows how low-turnout caucuses can continue to plague the leader of the Democratic Party.
On Tuesday night, Biden finally vanquished the Iowa caucuses, winning a mail-in caucus that for all intents and purposes was akin to a primary. Biden had lost Iowa in both 2008 and 2020, finishing nowhere near the top in the state that used to kick off the presidential calendar for Democrats.
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