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Former president Donald Trump moved closer to the Republican nomination on Saturday with victories in the Idaho, Michigan and Missouri caucuses that put his remaining rival, Nikki Haley, further in the rear-view mirror.
The contests were easily won by Mr Trump, who carried 89.3 per cent of the vote in Idaho and 100 per cent in Missouri.
In Michigan, the former president took all 39 delegates that were available on Saturday. In a separate Michigan primary earlier this week, Mr Trump won 12 of the other 16 delegates up for grabs.
Saturday’s contests were the last before Super Tuesday where Nikki Haley is desperate to pick off a single state in order to make her case for hanging on in the primaries and providing an alternative to voters.
The unspoken implication appears to be that some, apparently including Ms Haley, believe that Mr Trump, who is facing 91 felony charges, may yet exit the race.
On 5 March, voters will head to the polls in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia. The voting wave accounts for more than a third of delegates ahead of the Republican National Convention in July.
For Ms Haley, this Tuesday is an opportunity to breathe life into her campaign. For Mr Trump, it is the time to put the race away in a decisive manner.
Polls do not show Ms Haley leading anywhere however her campaign is optimistic about states with high suburban populations.
“Vermont, Utah, Virginia. I think there are states that, if you look at demographically, she has a chance to win,” a source close to leadership of Ms Haley’s super PAC told reporters last wee; after her defeat in South Carolina.
Mr Trump has won every state in the Republican primaries so far. Ms Haley is his last challenger after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out in January after the Iowa caucuses.
The former president remains the favourite of Republican voters and is leading President Joe Biden in some swing states, according to some recent polling.
However other polls suggest that a sizable number of Republicans, and America’s unaffiliated voters, won’t vote for Mr Trump in November.
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