ThePotomac primary (named afterthe river that splits the region),[1] also calledChesapeake Tuesday,[2] theBeltway primary, and theCrabcake primary,[3] is the confluence of three Democratic presidential primaries and three Republican presidential primaries that takes place afterSuper Tuesday inMaryland,Virginia, and the national capital ofWashington, D.C.
The results on both sides were fairly unsurprising according toopinion polling, with bothJohn McCain andBarack Obama winning by substantial margins. For Obama, however, the race had been significant as a major source of delegates in the close Democratic race, with him garnering a net gain of 50 delegates.
PresidentBarack Obama ran unopposed.
In the2016 election, on both theRepublican andDemocratic sides, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia held their primaries on three separate days. Virginia's 2016 primaries were part of Super Tuesday, while Maryland's took place on April 26. The Democrats of the District of Columbia held their primary on June 14, while the District's Republicans instead opted for a caucus, which took place on March 12.