Trump and Biden prepare for rematch as Haley bows out of GOP race

Former President Donald Trump is watching the returns Tuesday night with his political team after spending the weekend hosting donors at Mar-a-Lago in Florida as he seeks to raise more money and is deeply concerned about his finances. 

He also met with Elon Musk in recent days, a source familiar tells CNN, though it's not clear whether the Tesla CEO plans to donate to Trump.

The meeting with Musk was first reported by the New York Times. 

Nikki Haley has no public appearances tonight while Trump has invited hundreds of his supporters, donors and elected officials to his Mar-a-Lago club — a Super Tuesday of contrasts for the remaining GOP presidential contenders.

As primary polls begin to close in some states, President Joe Biden's campaign is already looking to the general election and asking donors to chip in to help fight against an “onslaught of attacks,” from former President Donald Trump’s campaign.

The email, which the campaign blasted out just minutes after polls in Virginia and Vermont closed at 7 p.m. ET, warns that “Trump and his MAGA extremism is a threat to our democracy, and we must do everything we can to defeat him.” 

But it also offers a glimpse into how the Biden campaign has largely approached the GOP field since January’s New Hampshire GOP primary, when campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez announced Trump “has all but locked up the GOP nomination,” before turning the campaign’s attention to the former president and the general election in November.

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson will win the Republican nomination for governor, CNN projects, setting up a general election campaign in the Tar Heel State that could mirror the anticipated presidential matchup in a crucial 2024 battleground. 

Robinson defeated two other candidates to get the party’s nod. 

Endorsed by former President Donald Trump on the eve of the primary, Robinson has been the state’s second-ranked executive since 2021, serving under (and in opposition to) term-limited Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. Robinson will slide comfortably onto a ticket with Trump in November. A fierce supporter of gun rights and abortion bans, he has also faced accusations of dabbling in antisemitic, misogynist and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. 

Read more about the North Carolina governor's race.

Former President Joe Biden will win the North Carolina Democratic primary, CNN projects.  

There were 116 pledged delegates at stake in North Carolina tonight. 

Who won in 2020: Biden won the Democratic primary. 

Former President Donald Trump will win the North Carolina GOP primary, CNN projects.  

There were 74 delegates at stake in North Carolina tonight. 

It is 7:30 p.m. ET and polls are closing across North Carolina. There are 74 GOP delegates and 116 Democratic delegates at stake.

Unaffiliated voters can vote in either primary. Voters affiliated with a party can only vote in that primary.

The state's political landscape: Republicans have carried North Carolina in 10 of the last 12 presidential elections. Former President Donald Trump eked out a victory in North Carolina in 2020, winning the state with 49.9% of the vote to Joe Biden’s 48.6%.

Democrats generally run best in the Piedmont urban counties, which have sizable Black voting blocs and large numbers of young professionals, especially in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Research Triangle. The state’s rural counties are largely Republican, besides some northeastern counties with large Black populations. The western mountains also support Republicans – although Buncombe County, home to Asheville, stands out as a dot of blue. Mecklenburg County, home to Charlotte, the state’s largest city, has undergone a political shift.

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren said the general election will ultimately come down to “a comparison” between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump’s records as president. 

Even though Nikki Haley is still battling former President Donald Trump in the Republican primary, Super Tuesday is expected to bring him closer to locking down the nomination.

Warren said she hopes Biden takes the State of the Union on Thursday as an opportunity to communicate directly with the American people about what he has achieved in the last three years. 

Asked about the warning signs facing Biden’s reelection campaign when it comes to rebuilding the progressive coalition and those voting “uncommitted” in Michigan's presidential primary due to his role in Israel’s war in Gaza, Warren said there are things that must be done right now to move toward permanent peace in the region. 

The campaigns of Donald Trump and Joe Biden have their sights set on a similar target: Nikki Haley supporters.

And fewer places are being studied closer than the fast-growing suburbs around Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina.

The votes for Haley hold important lessons — perhaps less so for her candidacy than for Trump, Biden — or even a third-party candidate. Can Trump win back those supporters?

The Biden campaign has already sent a team to North Carolina. An office is opening soon in Raleigh, with others to open in the coming weeks and months.

It’s been 16 years since Barack Obama won the state — the last Democrat to do so — but Trump’s margin narrowed to just over 1 point in 2020 from more than 3 points in 2016.

The Biden campaign dismisses the notion that North Carolina is an insurance policy — if Michigan or other battlegrounds become more challenging — but the 16 electoral votes may be at the center of election night in November.

Virginia is among the several states that held elections on Super Tuesday. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are projected to win their respective primaries in the state and pick up more delegates in their quest for their party's nomination.

Both candidates will also be looking for clues about how the general election could shape up in November.

Here's a look at the state's political landscape:

Virginia has an open primary, which means registered voters can participate in either party's election.