MISSOURI — Donald Trump won the Missouri Republican caucuses, one of three Saturday events that will award delegates for the GOP presidential nomination.
The former president is especially strong in party caucuses and is expected to expand his number of delegates at a party convention in Michigan. Idaho also has caucuses on Saturday. Meanwhile, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley is still seeking her first victory.
There are no Democratic races on Saturday.
Next up is Sunday’s Republican caucus in the District of Columbia. Two days later it will be Super Tuesday, when 16 states and American Samoa will hold primaries in what will be the biggest voting day of the year not counting the November elections. Trump is on track to secure the nomination a few days later.
Michigan
Michigan Republicans, meeting Saturday at their Grand Rapids convention, began allocating 39 of the state’s 55 GOP presidential delegates. But a significant portion of the party’s grassroots force skipped the meeting due to the lingering effects of a months-long dispute over party leadership.
Trump won the Michigan primary by a landslide last Tuesday with 68% of the vote, compared to Haley’s 27%.
Missouri
The Missouri Republican Party held its presidential caucuses Saturday, offering the state’s voters their only chance to weigh in on who should represent the party on the November presidential ballot.
Voters lined up outside a church in Columbia, home of the University of Missouri, before the doors opened.
“I don’t know what my role will be here, other than being in the corner for Trump,” said Carmen Christal, a Columbia resident, adding that she is “looking forward to the experience.”
Idaho
Last year, Idaho lawmakers passed a cost-cutting law that sought to move all of the state’s primaries to the same date in May, but the law eliminated the presidential primary altogether.
The Republican-led legislature considered holding a special session to reinstate the presidential primaries but failed to agree on a proposal in time, making presidential caucuses the only option.
The Republican Party caucuses are this Saturday, while the Democratic caucuses will be on May 23.
Source: With information from AP
