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There were 91 ballots cast in the Democratic caucus in American Samoa. You’ve probably never heard of the candidate who beat Biden there.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden was sweeping every Democratic contest on Super Tuesday — except for American Samoa.
He fell short there to a previously unknown candidate named Jason Palmer on Tuesday. Out of 91 ballots cast in the territory’s caucus, Palmer won 51 and Biden won 40, according to the local party.
The outcome will hardly derail Biden’s march toward his party’s nomination. Only six delegates were at stake in the U.S. territory, a tiny collection of islands in the South Pacific with fewer than 50,000 residents.
Palmer, 52, appears to have campaigned in the territory. On the day before the caucus, he posted on X that “Washington D.C. is long overdue for a president who will be an advocate for American Samoa.” His account includes pictures of young people holding homemade campaign signs.
On his website, Palmer describes himself as a Baltimore resident who has worked for various businesses and nonprofits, often on issues involving technology and education. He did not immediately return a phone message.
Residents of U.S. territories vote in primaries but do not have representation in the Electoral College.
American Samoa has been the site of quixotic victories before. During the 2020 Democratic primaries, billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s only win came in the territory.
Not enough states will have voted until later this month for former President Donald Trump or Biden to formally become their parties’ presumptive nominees. But the primary’s biggest day made their rematch a near certainty. Both the 81-year-old Biden and the 77-year-old Trump continue to dominate their parties despite facing questions about age and neither having broad popularity across the general electorate.
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