After Trump’s wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, the stakes of 2024 are clear

Trump is cruising his way to the GOP nomination as the continued battle over abortion rights – 51 years after Roe v. Wade was decided – promises to threaten his general election campaign.

One week after breezing to a victory in the Iowa Caucus, Donald Trump won New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary on Tuesday, defeating his only serious challenger left in the race, Nikki Haley. 

While Trump’s 11-point win was hardly a dominant one, he remains Republican primary voters’ clear choice to carry their party’s banner. As has been clear for the better part of a year to most observers – including our reporters in Iowa and New Hampshire – Trump will be the Republican nominee for president. 

But the other major story of the week also underscored one of Trump’s greatest weaknesses: his role in overturning Roe v. Wade. Monday marked the 51st anniversary of the US Supreme Court’s ruling granting women the constitutional right to abortion–a right that was revoked in 2022 by the modern, right-wing Court stacked with Trump appointees. 

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden held a rally in Virginia, where he highlighted the stakes of the 2024 election and reiterated his commitment to restoring the protections of Roe.

Read our coverage of Biden’s rally (and keep scrolling for more 2024 primary + reproductive rights coverage!):

More from COURIER’s other newsrooms:

IOWA

Trump wins caucus, but cold hampers turnout

From Iowa Starting Line: About 100,000 people participated in the Republican caucuses this year, despite the weather, but that was a steep decline from the 2016 record of more than 186,000 Republican caucus-goers, and a 20,000-person drop-off from 2020. 

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Meet the college students supporting Biden’s write-in campaign

From The Granite Post: It’s not unusual for student political leaders at Dartmouth to help other students vote. But it is unique for them to share cards with instructions on participating in a write-in campaign. 

MICHIGAN

Michiganders protected abortion after Roe. Republicans are plotting a reversal.

From The ‘Gander: Michigan has emerged as a safe haven for abortion care after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. But under Republican leadership, those rights could be in jeopardy.

VIRGINIA

Virginia Democrats defeat Republican attempts to restrict voting

From Dogwood: Virginia Republicans have returned to their efforts to restrict early and other convenient voting methods. This month, a Democratic-led committee rejected the GOP’s latest attempts to roll back recent years’ voting improvements. 

NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina’s history of abortion restrictions—and what comes next

From Cardinal & Pine: To mark the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade this month, here’s a look at all the times North Carolina’s lawmakers tried to disrupt abortion care. 

FLORIDA

Dems were losing Latino voters in FL—how two young innovators turned that around

From Floricua: Alex Berrios and Devon Murphy-Anderson had a new idea for registering Florida’s Latinos. But once Ron DeSantis saw it working, he took aim with a ruthless voter suppression law.

WISCONSIN

Wisconsinites call for extended health care coverage for new moms

From Up North News: Wisconsin is one of only four states that has yet to take advantage of a financial incentive to extend postpartum healthcare coverage to new moms through Medicaid.

ARIZONA

Millions of workers could get more benefits under new Biden policy

From The Copper Courier: “Independent contractors” or ‘gig’ workers lack crucial workplace benefits such as overtime pay and access to unemployment insurance. That will soon change thanks to a new Biden administration policy.

PENNSYLVANIA

PA Senate candidate Dave McCormick admits he spends half his time with wealthy donors

From The Keystone: Dave McCormick, a former hedge fund manager and current Republican candidate running for US Senate in Pennsylvania, recently admitted to a New Hampshire audience that he’s spending a lot of his time with wealthy donors. 

NEVADA

Nevada to get electric school buses thanks to millions in federal funding

From The Nevadan: The Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus program, part of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, gives $5 billion to districts across the country to purchase zero- and low-emission school buses.

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That’s it for this week! 

One more thing…

We have a new podcast from COURIER called Vibes Only! The 2024 election and the future of democracy hinges - not on detailed policy platforms or candidate records - but on vibes. That’s why COURIER has launched a brand new podcast to check the vibes of American politics and culture, and perhaps sneak in a little substantive analysis on the need-to-know news of the week. Tune in and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. (Click here for Apple Music and here for Spotify!)