Former President Donald Trump swept a trio of states Saturday, inching his way closer to a formal grasp of the party’s nomination for president.
Trump notched victories in Missouri and Idaho, and picked up more delegates at the party convention in Michigan. But none of these three state elections were primaries. All were caucuses, which limit turnout by requiring participants to arrive at a specific time and usually to stay for a certain period to participate in a more formal process.
Caucus specifics vary from state to state, but they usually involve hearing speeches and then casting a vote.
The Associated Press called the Missouri caucuses for Trump at 12:40 p.m. ET. Trump also gained the 39 delegates available at Michigan’s convention caucuses, according to the AP. Idaho was the final state to go for Trump, with an AP race call at 6:58 p.m. ET.
Trump has now won every single Republican nominating contest since the year began. He will face his only serious remaining challenger, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, in the numerous elections being held March 5, which is known as Super Tuesday.
Saturday’s losses were another indication that Haley faces grim prospects for winning the nomination.
Caucuses limited participation
In both Idaho and Missouri, state lawmakers canceled the Republican primary and replaced it with caucuses.
This gave a small percentage of Republicans in the state control over who the party nominates.
The last time Idaho held caucuses instead of a primary, in 2012, only about 45,000 people took part. That was about a fifth of all registered Republicans in the state. The tally Saturday night in Idaho appeared to be even lower — the Associated Press reported fewer than 40,000 votes were cast.
The timing of the caucuses was also an obstacle for many. Idaho, which is split between the Mountain and Pacific time zones, held its caucuses at 12:30 or 1:30 in the afternoon. Missouri held its caucuses at 10 a.m. Central Time.
Michigan’s caucus convention was even more restricted
In Michigan, which held its caucuses at 10 a.m. ET, the average voter couldn’t even take part.
Michigan also held a primary earlier in the week that allocated about a third of that state’s delegates. Trump won that contest easily.
But there was a scheduling conflict between the date set by Michigan’s Legislature, which is controlled by Democrats, and rules for the Republican nominating calendar set by the Republican National Committee.
So the Michigan GOP created a hybrid system in which a majority of the state’s 55 delegates are allocated based on a caucus convention.
The caucus convention, being held Saturday, brought together around 2,000 party activists from around the state who were selected at the county level.
A state of confusion
But the confusion in Michigan was made worse when activists last year accused state party chair Kristina Karamo of mismanaging the organization’s finances.
Trump backed a different state party chair, former Rep. Pete Hoekstra, as did the Republican National Committee.
Karamo, however, refused to back down and organized a caucus convention of her own, separate from the caucus convention held by Hoekstra and his organization.
Only one day before the two dueling meetings were set to take place, Karamo and her former staff bowed to the pressure from the national party and canceled their competing caucus convention.
Heading into Tuesday
Though the votes might be small, the victories in Missouri, Michigan, and Idaho give Trump a little momentum heading into Super Tuesday. Trump’s campaign hopes to wrap up the primary race in the coming weeks — or as soon as Tuesday night, should Haley drop out.
As for staying in the race, Haley has said that March 5 is “as far as I’ve thought in terms of going forward.”
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