Donald Trump secured another major victory on Saturday by storming through more nominating contests, winning the Republican caucuses in Michigan, Missouri, and Idaho, bringing him closer to becoming the Republican presidential nominee in the upcoming November election.
In all three states, Trump defeated former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, his final rival for the Republican presidential nomination, and will most likely face President Joe Biden in a general election rematch.
According to the state Republican Party, Trump defeated Haley in all 13 districts that participated in the nomination caucuses. He won with approximately 98% support, receiving 1575 votes, as opposed to Haley, who received only 36.
The Michigan Republican Party’s chairman, Pete Hoekstra described it as a “overwhelming, dominating victory.”
According to Reuters, more than 1,600 party insiders attended the presidential caucus in Grand Rapids, a city in western Michigan, where they had to choose between Trump and former UN Ambassador Haley to represent the party at the national nominating convention in July.
Trump is far ahead in the race, having won in Iowa, New Hampshire, the US Virgin Islands, Nevada, South Carolina, and now Idaho, Missouri, and Michigan. Haley is trailing.
Haley is running out of time to influence the outcome of the Republican nomination race. Meanwhile, Super Tuesday, March 5, the biggest day in the primaries with votes cast in 15 states and one territory, is quickly approaching.
Michigan Republicans devised a hybrid nominating system for this election cycle that included both a caucus and a primary, according to Reuters.
Trump easily won the primary on Tuesday, capturing 12 of the 16 delegates. He then challenged Michigan’s remaining 39 delegates on Saturday.
At one of the 13 caucus meetings, the participants were confident that Trump would win and decided to save time by asking Haley’s supporters to stand instead. According to Reuters, only a 25-year-old Carter Houtman spoke up for her in a room of 185 voting delegate.