Former President Donald Trump, this Saturday at a campaign rally in Richmond (Virginia).JIM LO SCALZO (EFE)
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican favorite in November's presidential election, continues to score points in the race. Despite the huge legal offensive he is facing – four criminal cases for which he faces a total of 91 charges – Trump won this Saturday the 39 delegates to the Republican convention in Michigan, a state in which has split the party into rival factions, are at stake while the former president ensures control of the formation. Trump's landslide victory therefore appears to have silenced the battle for political leadership in Michigan, as disputes erupt over where the convention will be held and who will be in charge. Trump easily defeated Nikki Haley in the Republican primary in that state last Tuesday, securing 12 of the 16 delegates at stake.
Michigan is also a key state in November's final results, one of the six swing states – in all of which, according to recent polls, Trump has an advantage over his Democratic rival Joe Biden – so some factions of the party feared that internal disagreements would damage their campaign and take away votes, which could be decisive in November. In addition, according to the forecasts of the polling institute Edison Research, the former president also won the Republican faction in Missouri this Saturday and continued his triumphant march through the polls eight months before the elections. Republicans also hold caucuses in Idaho today, one of the last races where Haley could change the trajectory of the race before Super Tuesday, March 5. According to initial voting forecasts, Haley also failed to beat Trump in Idaho.
According to the state Republican Party, Trump defeated Haley in Michigan in all 13 counties that went to nomination elections. Overall, Trump won by nearly 1,575 votes to just 36 for Haley. Pete Hoekstra, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, called it an “overwhelming and dominant victory.” For this election cycle, Michigan Republicans have developed a hybrid nominating system divided into primaries and caucuses, which is why voting lasts two days.
With his victories in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, the Virgin Islands, South Carolina and now Michigan and Missouri, Trump is by far the favorite in the race, and Haley is holding his own thanks to support from donors looking for an alternative earlier President.
His clear lead over Haley, the last Republican candidate in the race in a primary that began with strong crowds, brings him one step closer to his party's nomination for the White House, which could be on the verge of a theoretical coronation at the convention will take place in July in Milwaukee. Once he's invested, not even the legal setbacks he faces – or even the disqualification proceedings brought by three states over his role in the attack on the Capitol, which have yet to be resolved – can stop him from participating in a repeat of his fight for Running for office with Biden in 2020.
Trump's party will also take part in the presidential primaries in Washington DC this Sunday, while the North Dakota primaries will take place on Monday. The two controversial parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, go to the polls on Tuesday, the election day par excellence of the election campaign, the so-called Super Tuesday, with votes of different types (primaries and caucuses) in 15 states and one territory. Trump dedicated Saturday to various rallies in North Carolina, where Haley also campaigned, and Virginia.
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