Donald Trump defeated Nikki Haley – his last remaining rival for this year’s Republican presidential nomination – in the North Dakota caucus on Monday.
Trump received over 84% of the vote, according to AP – an overwhelming victory as any candidate who wins over 60% receives the votes of all 29 of the state’s delegates under North Dakota’s rules.
Trump now has 273 delegates against Haley’s 43, which puts him in a better position to clinch the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination for the November elections – even after Haley’s victory in the Washington, DC primary on Sunday.
Trump’s success on Monday came right after the US Supreme Court overturned a decision by the Colorado Supreme Court, which had found that Trump could not serve again as president over his alleged encouragement of the Capitol Hill riot in 2021.
Under Section 3 of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, people who previously held government positions but later “engaged in insurrection” should be banned from running for various offices. The Supreme Court said states cannot determine whether a presidential candidate or other candidate for federal office is ineligible.
Both of Trump’s victories on Monday – in court and in North Dakota – came ahead of this week’s primary elections known as Super Tuesday, when millions of Americans are expected to vote in 15 states and territories. The former president, who has won eight out of nine primary contests so far, is expected to dominate the vote, as he leads by wide margins in polls both nationally and in the states set to vote on Tuesday.
Recent polls show Trump has about 80% support in Texas, 70% support in California, and 65% in Virginia.