With little fanfare, Joe Biden and Donald Trump secured their respective party nominations in the March 12 caucuses and primaries.
This officially kicks off what is now the longest general-election campaign ever, spanning a 238-day marathon (just a day longer than the campaigns in 2000 and 2004) and promises to feel even lengthier due to the rematch between two widely recognized presidents.
The designation of Biden and Trump as the “putative” nominees came a week earlier when their last intraparty opponents, Dean Phillips and Nikki Haley, respectively, exited the race.
Presently, they hold the status of “presumptive” nominees pending the formal endorsement at their respective national conventions—scheduled for July 15-18 in Milwaukee for Republicans and August 19-22 in Chicago for Democrats.
Biden has amassed 2,107 of the 2,130 Democratic delegates allocated thus far, comfortably surpassing the 1,968 needed for the nomination. Interestingly, “uncommitted” stands in second place with 20 delegates.
On the Republican side, Trump has secured 1,241 of the 1,347 delegates allocated to date, surpassing the 1,215 required for the nomination. Nikki Haley trails with 94 delegates.
As the campaign progresses toward the conventions and, ultimately, the general election, the nation braces itself for what is expected to be a closely watched and hotly contested battle between the incumbent president and his challenger.
