President Joe Biden suffered a shock defeat on Super Tuesday, losing American Samoa’s caucuses to unknown candidate Jason Palmer.
The president was beaten in the tiny U.S. territory in the South Pacific that isn’t awarded Electoral College votes but can still send Democratic delegates to this summer’s convention.
Just 91 Democrats turned out to vote, with Palmer receiving 51 votes to Biden’s 40. American Samoa has just six delegates, with Palmer expected to earn four and Biden two.
The tiny Pacific Ocean American territory is 5,000 miles away from the U.S. mainland and is a 14-hour flight west of Los Angeles.
‘I didn’t actually fly to American Samoa,’ the Baltimore-based investor said Tuesday night on CNN. ‘I actually did multiple virtual town halls and spoke with the nationals there because, you may not know, but people in American Samoa are not necessarily automatically Americans citizens.’
During the 2020 Democratic primary race, American Samoa was the only contest to be won by billionaire Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor.