United States: Donald Trump, the former president of the United States, has won the Republican caucuses in Michigan, Missouri, and Idaho, giving him a significant advantage in the contest for his party’s presidential candidacy.
Trump easily defeated Nikki Haley, his last opponent and a former UN ambassador, in each of the three states.
The ex-president has won all state-nominating contests leading up to next week’s “Super Tuesday,” where voters in 15 US states and one territory select their favored candidate for each party.
The state Republican Party of Michigan reports that Trump defeated Haley in each of the 13 districts that participated in the nomination caucuses.
In the western Michigan city of Grand Rapids, more than 1,600 party insiders took part in the caucus, selecting delegates for either Trump or Haley for the party’s national nominating convention in July.
With 1,575 votes to just 36 for Haley, Trump received over 98 percent of the total ballots cast.
The head of the Michigan Republican Party, Pete Hoekstra, described the outcome as an “overwhelming, dominating victory.”
There is not much longer for Haley to change the direction of the Republican primary. Trump is the front-runner in the election after winning in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, the US Virgin Islands, South Carolina, and now Michigan, Missouri, and Idaho. Haley is only able to stay in the race because of the backing of donors who are eager to see someone other than the outgoing president.
Michigan Republicans created a hybrid nomination structure for this election cycle that combines a primary and a caucus. With a resounding victory on Tuesday, Trump grabbed 12 of the 16 delegates that were up for grabs. On Saturday, he put all 39 of Michigan’s remaining delegates in jeopardy.