Michigan primary results updates: Biden and Trump projected to win
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump won their respective parties' presidential primary in Michigan Tuesday night, ABC News projects.
Biden touted his victory in a statement after his projected win while urging unity in the face of a protest vote over his handling of the war in Gaza.
"I want to thank every Michigander who made their voice heard today. Exercising the right to vote and participating in our democracy is what makes America great," he said in a statement.
"You’ve heard me say many times it’s never a good bet to bet against the United States of America. It’s never a good bet to bet against Michiganders either. This fight for our freedoms, for working families, and for Democracy is going to take all of us coming together," his statement continued. "I know that we will."
Trump, meanwhile, claimed that his win over former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley exceeded expectations and underscored the role Michigan plays as a key swing state in the general election.
"We win Michigan; we win the whole thing," Trump told Michigan Republicans after his win. "I just want to thank everybody, you've been incredible. And I'm so proud of the results because they're far greater than anticipated. So thank you all very much, and I'll be seeing you over the next period of nine months and long beyond that."
Haley insisted that despite her loss, Tuesday's results showed that a substantial swath of the Republican Party doesn't want Trump as its nominee after she earned over a quarter of the vote.
"Joe Biden is losing about 20 percent of the Democratic vote today, and many say it’s a sign of his weakness in November. Donald Trump is losing about 35 percent of the vote. That’s a flashing warning sign for Trump in November," Haley spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas said in a statement, referencing Trump's roughly 67% of the vote. "Since Trump became president in 2016, he lost Michigan Republicans the state House, state Senate, and Governor’s mansion."
Polls were open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time.
Early voting in the state's presidential primary occurred from Feb.18 through Sunday.
Vote-by-mail absentee ballots had to be received by a local elections clerk by 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
A separate state primary for U.S. representative and state legislative seats will be on Aug. 3.
While both Democratic and Republican presidential primaries are being held in Michigan, delegates to the Republican National Convention will not be bound wholly based on Tuesday's primary results.
The GOP primary results determine 16 delegates. The remaining 39 of Michigan’s 55 Republican delegates will be awarded based on a resolution to be determined at a subsequent state party convention as well as the state party's congressional district caucuses.
All 117 of Michigan's Democratic delegates will be awarded based on the primary election results on Tuesday.
State significance
Michigan has become a closely contested swing state in recent presidential elections, having swung between the Democratic and Republican candidates in the last three elections.
After decades of voting for Democrats, the state narrowly voted for Republican Donald Trump in 2016 and then switched back to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. Michigan was also an epicenter of baseless election conspiracy theories during the 2020 election, which received national attention.
Both President Biden and former President Trump have faced recent headwinds in the state.
Muslim and Arab American leaders in Michigan have launched efforts to campaign against voting for Biden in the 2024 election in protest of his policies regarding the Israel-Hamas war.
Trump's 2024 candidacy had also been challenged in the state under the 14th Amendment because of his actions around Jan. 6, but the state Supreme Court rejected that.
