Live updates on primary election

The Colorado primary could offer Nikki Haley a rare opportunity to add to her delegate count. Former president Donald Trump is currently leading with 276 Republican delegates to Haley’s 43.

The state’s 37 delegates are awarded proportionally to candidates who win at least 20% of the vote. According to NBC News, Haley’s worst case scenario would still likely be a pickup of 10 delegates.

Haley typically performs better than Trump among Independents and center-right Republicans, according to Republican strategist Susan Del Percio. A third of the total votes cast so far in the Colorado presidential primary came from voters who were unaffiliated with either party, Axios reports.

Haley also draws outsize support from affluent, college-educated Republicans. Nearly half of Colorado’s population age 25 and older, 43.7%, have a Bachelor’s degree or higher, per the U.S. Census.

— Chelsey Cox

The biggest primary race to watch in the nation’s most populous state isn’t the one for president.

A crush of candidates are vying for the powerful Senate seat formerly held for two decades by Dianne Feinstein, who died in September. Sen. Laphonza Butler, whom Gov. Gavin Newsom picked to temporarily fill the vacancy, has opted not to run to keep the seat.

The Senate primary in California, which consistently votes blue in statewide contests, has largely looked like a three-way race between Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee.

Schiff, who gained national prominence for his leading role in the first impeachment of then-President Donald Trump, has led the pack in ad spending and polling.

But Steve Garvey, a Republican former pro baseball player, has seen a late surge in the polls, even though his campaign has placed no TV ads.

That’s likely because the majority of Schiff’s broadcasts mention Garvey, while none mention Porter.

It’s a strategy that could pay off massively. California has an open primary, meaning voters can select any party’s candidate, and only the top two candidates will proceed to the general election.

If Schiff winds up competing against Garvey in the general, rather than Porter or Lee, he may have a better shot at winning in California, which hasn’t had a Republican senator since 1992.

— Kevin Breuninger

North Carolina’s primaries feature several competitive down-ballot races, including a closely watched gubernatorial primary to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, which could act as a bellwether of the battleground state’s leaning in November.

Gov. Cooper endorsed the state’s Attorney General Josh Stein to be his successor. But before Stein officially secures the incumbent party’s nomination, he will have to clear a crowded Democratic field. Stein is up against four opponents including former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Morgan.

If he is the Democratic nominee, Stein could face a November matchup against Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is leading the GOP pool so far and has Donald Trump’s endorsement.

Joe Biden is looking to flip North Carolina after Donald Trump narrowly won the state by just over one percent in the 2020 general election. If Republicans are able to turn Gov. Cooper’s seat red, it could signal how the swing state’s electorate is thinking about their options at the top of the ticket.

— Rebecca Picciotto

Super Tuesday primary voting began bright and as early as 6 a.m. ET in Vermont, with President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump looking to cement their leads over their respective remaining intraparty opponents.

In the Republican primary, 17 delegates are up for grabs, while in the Democratic contest, there are 16 delegates at stake. Polls will close at 7 p.m. ET.

Vermont has an open primary system. Voters can choose in which party primary to vote, regardless of their personal political affiliation.

Vermont, which is the second-smallest state by population, will award just three votes in the Electoral College after the presidential election in November.

— Dan Mangan

The battle for California’s coveted open Senate seat is still a long way from the general election, but the contest is already the state’s most expensive Senate race of all time, by far.

Spending on the Golden State Senate race has topped $65.3 million, AdImpact reported on Feb. 29.

That’s 242% more spending than the last three California Senate races combined, according to AdImpact.

The difference underscores just how competitive the race for late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat has been compared to other elections in the reliably blue state.

— Kevin Breuninger