After careful research, Jason Palmer, a little-known Democratic presidential candidate, found a place — 7,000 miles from his Baltimore home — where he had a chance of upsetting President Joe Biden in a primary.
Palmer, a 52-year-old entrepreneur who had not previously run for elected office, won the American Samoa primary on Tuesday night, becoming the first candidate since 1980 to defeat a sitting president in a primary since Sen. Edward M. Kennedy beat Jimmy Carter in a string of 1980 Democratic primaries.
It was no accident that Palmer, a general partner of New Markets Venture Partners in Fulton, poured resources — including campaign signs, T-shirts and hats — into the U.S. territory in the South Pacific.
“Talofa lava,” Palmer said — it means “hello” in Samoan — in a 6-minute YouTube video his campaign made for the residents of American Samoa before his Super Tuesday victory.
“I’m asking for your support and vote and would love to talk to you about why I believe I’m the best candidate for American Samoa, a beautiful and diverse territory that needs more attention and support from our federal government,” he said in the video.
Palmer, who hopes to continue to compete for delegates in other states, said the power of Biden’s campaign money and influence was minimized in American Samoa because the president did not focus on the territory as Palmer did.
“American Samoa is kind of the first time we were on an equal playing field,” Palmer said in an interview. “I definitely didn’t expect to win going in. I was hoping to maybe get one or two delegates.”
Palmer got 51 votes, and Biden got 40. The territory is not “winner take all,” so the delegates are split. In this case, though Palmer got more votes, he and Biden will each get three delegates.
“I got three delegates and Joe Biden has got three. But technically I’m the winner,” Palmer said.
Palmer also targeted Colorado and Vermont, but did not pick up any delegates there, said Mario Arias, his campaign manager.
“The field team we had [in American Samoa] was spectacular. They were passionate. Jason called in virtually and had a town hall meet-and-greet,” Arias said.
Palmer said he learned he had won from a TV news broadcast he was watching in the lobby of a Washington hotel while attending an education conference.
“I actually didn’t realize that their caucus would end so early because they are six hours behind us,” he said. “My phone started buzzing off the hook.”
Palmer, whose firm emphasizes education and workforce technology companies, said he decided to make a quixotic run last fall and got on 16 ballots.
“I’ve been thinking about running for public office of some kind for many years, but life gets in the way. You have children, your job is busy. I’ve been investing in companies for the last decade,” he said.
Palmer said he believed Biden, 81, intended to be a “transitional” candidate who would step down and allow others to succeed him.
But Biden opted to seek reelection and “nobody else was getting in,” he said. “And I think it’s super important to have an energetic campaign that talks about issues and sets this positive vision forward.”
Palmer has loaned his campaign $536,710 and collected another $37,140 in contributions, according to his Federal Election Commission report.
After spending more than $500,000, he had $68,497 remaining as of Jan. 31.
His biggest expenses were for ad buys, campaign salaries, public relations and consulting, and ballot fees.
Palmer is not a well-known local political figure but says he has helped candidates in the past and is supporting Democrat David Trone’s U.S. Senate candidacy and Democratic John Olszewski’s candidacy in the 2nd Congressional District in the May 14 primary.
Palmer said he will support Biden if the president is the Democratic nominee as expected.
