When will Trump and Biden clinch their party's nomination? Tracking the delegates.
WASHINGTON ? Former President Donald Trump is within arm's reach of clinching the Republican Party's 2024 nomination, and Tuesday's primaries may push him over the delegate threshold needed to become the GOP nominee.
After landslide victories on Super Tuesday and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley's exit from the race, Trump's path to the nomination looks even clearer. The former president needs 140 more delegates to become the GOP's presumptive pick.
And President Joe Biden isn't far behind him as he seeks the Democratic nomination.
Four states are holding Republican primaries on Tuesday, with an opportunity for Trump to pick up enough delegates to secure his place at the Republican convention this summer. Three states, as well as the Northern Mariana Islands, are holding Democratic contests, which total enough delegates to score Biden the Democratic nomination as well.
Here's what the path could look like for both candidates to win their respective party's nomination:
How many delegates does it take to win a party's nomination?
There are a total of 2,429 delegates available to win the Republican nomination. A candidate must secure the majority of delegates, 1,215, to become the GOP nominee.
If no candidate wins the majority of delegates during the primary and caucus season, then delegates at the national nominating convention will vote amongst themselves to make the Republican pick.
For the Democratic Party, there are a total of 4,672 delegates. The Democratic nominee must win 1,968 delegates to represent the party on the ballot in November.
How many delegates does Donald Trump have? How many delegates does Joe Biden have?
Biden currently has 1,866 delegates, coming up 102 delegates short of what's needed to become the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Trump has a larger threshold to cross to win the GOP nomination. He has gained 1,075 delegates so far, and he needs 140 more to secure the GOP nomination.
Will there be a presumptive nominee Tuesday?
It's very possible.
Georgia, Hawaii, Mississippi and Washington are holding their Republican primaries Tuesday with 161 delegates up for grabs. If Trump wins over 85% of these available delegates, which is likely given Haley suspended her campaign, he will become the presumptive nominee for Republicans.
The Trump campaign suggested in a memo last month that the former president will likely lock in necessary support during Tuesday's March 12 primaries. They predicted he'll have a total of 1,223 delegates after Tuesday.
In a worst case scenario, the campaign estimates he will become the designated nominee no later than March 19.
For Biden, winning the 247 delegates from Tuesday's primary states of Georgia, Mississippi and Washington and the territory of the Northern Mariana Islands would be more than enough to essentially become the Democratic primary winner.
Because Biden lacks any major challengers, it's likely he will win these delegates in a landslide, along with the 13 delegates from groups of Democrats living abroad.
When are the Republican and Democratic conventions?
Even if Biden and Trump win the delegates necessary to become their party's nominees, they still have to be formally nominated at their party's convention over the summer.
The Republican National Convention will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from July 15 to July 18. The Democratic National Convention will be in Chicago from Aug. 19 to Aug. 22.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Are Trump, Biden close to clinching GOP, Democratic Party nominations?
