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President Joe Biden has suffered his first lost in a Democratic primary, losing American Samoa’s caucus Tuesday night to unknown candidate Jason Palmer.
The president was defeated 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.
Palmer is a Baltimore-based investor but has spent time on the island in recent days, his campaign said.
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.
President Joe Biden has lost the primary in American Samoa to unknown candidate Jason Palmer
After pouring millions into his presidential race, Bloomberg promptly dropped out and endorsed Biden.
Palmer’s claim to fame, his campaign said in a release, is that he’s the first presidential candidate to release a talking, AI-powered version of himself.
The 52-year-old hopeful previously worked at Microsoft, Kaplan Education, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is a gradaute of Harvard Business School.
His win comes as Biden has two better-known challengers, Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips and self-help guru Marianne Williamson, who jumped back in the primary race on Wednesday after she garnered more votes than Phillips in the Michigan primary.
Prior to Palmer’s win, Biden lost two delegates to ‘uncommitted,’ a protest vote over the president’s support of Israel as civilians are being killed in Gaza.
Neither Phillips nor Williamson have won a single delegate yet.
Before Palmer’s unexpected primary win, the Minnesota congressman was already humorously talking about his poor results.
‘Congratulations to Joe Biden, Uncommitted, Marianne Williamson, and Nikki Haley for demonstrating more appeal to Democratic Party loyalists than me,’ he posted on X.
