Trump wins party vote in Missouri, Michigan, Idaho

Donald Trump inched ahead in his quest to become the Republican Party’s presidential nominee, winning internal party elections in Missouri, Michigan, and Idaho, US media reported.

The former president has now won every state nominating contest heading into next week’s “Super Tuesday,” when voters in 15 US states choose their preferred candidate for each party.

Trump has gained massive momentum in the race to capture the Republican nomination at the party convention in July, and Tuesday is expected to secure the result.

He will likely face President Joe Biden in November elections, pitting the two for the second time since 2020.

The voting in Missouri, Michigan, and Idaho were hybrid internal elections with differing rules, sometimes reflecting rifts and tensions despite Trump’s formidable sway.

In Missouri, Trump swamped his primary opponent, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, winning every county caucus in the state, The New York Times reported.

Anyone who expressed an “allegiance to the Missouri Republican Party” could vote in the county caucuses.

CNN reported that around 2,000 party activists voted in a caucus convention in Michigan, and Trump won all 39 delegates up for grabs.

The limited vote came in the wake of chaos within the state party, including allegations of overspending and mismanagement.

Trump had grabbed 16 Michigan delegates earlier in the week in a limited primary vote.

The former president also handily won Republican caucuses in the western state of Idaho, NBC and ABC projected.

Haley has raced around the country in the run-up to Super Tuesday, trying to make an increasingly complex case against the inevitability of Trump’s nomination.