- Trump needs 1,215 delegates to officially win the Republican nomination
- Trump could have the necessary delegates as early as March 12
- His campaign was already focused on the general election and a rematch with Biden
Fresh off victories in all but one Super Tuesday state and with no one standing between him and the Republican presidential nomination, Donald Trump could officially clinch the Republican nomination next week.
While it is almost certain that Trump will be the nominee, the number of delegates is what makes it official. As of Wednesday morning, Trump had 995 delegates. He needs 1,215, so he is just 220 delegates behind the target.
By Super Tuesday, the former president had won fourteen of fifteen contests, giving him a significant boost in delegates in just one day.
More than 850 delegates were up for grabs as voters cast their ballots in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia.
Trump delivers his victory speech on Super Tuesday. He is almost certain to be the Republican nominee for president and could officially secure the necessary delegates next week.
Nikki Haley, Trump’s only opponent from Super Tuesday for the Republican nomination, won only one state in the primaries so far plus DC. She leaves the race Wednesday with just 89 delegates
Trump has won every state, but Vermont, which went to Haley, is suspending its campaign.
All but 86 of the delegates up for grabs on Super Tuesday have been allocated as of Wednesday morning, with the remaining votes still being counted. Another 11 delegates from Texas will be awarded at the state convention in May.
The next battle is the elections in American Samoa in March, where nine delegates are up for grabs but will not put Trump over the top.
After that, 161 delegates will be up for grabs when competitions are held in Georgia, Hawaii, Mississippi and Washington.
Depending on how the rest of Super Tuesday’s delegates are allocated and which races, Trump could officially become the party’s nominee that day, the likely scenario.
But if it doesn’t happen that date, another 350 delegates will be up for grabs on March 19, including those in Trump’s adopted home state of Florida, as well as Arizona, Ohio, Illinois and Kansas.
Republicans will hold their National Convention from July 15 to 18, where Trump would accept the nomination.
Donald Trump crushed Nikki Haley again on Super Tuesday
Trump has planned a rally in the state of Georgia on March 9, but his campaign is already focused on the general election and the rematch against President Joe Biden.
In his victory speech Tuesday night at Mar-a-Lago, Trump didn’t even mention Haley by name, instead focusing on the battle ahead. He also took a much more subdued approach than his usual style.
With eight months to go, the general election, like 2020, is expected to be extremely close, and the Trump campaign will need to bring Haley’s supporters back into the ranks.
On Tuesday night, Republican strategist Karl Rove said it was a “strong night” for Trump, but he had a dire warning for the presumptive Republican nominee.
“Team Trump’s high command should be concerned about unifying the Republican Party,” Rove said in an interview with Fox News.
He noted that Haley won more than a third of the votes in Virginia and nearly a quarter of the votes in North Carolina.
“There is still some work to be done to unify the Republican Party,” Rove said.