Donald Trump has been declared winner of the Republican presidential nominating caucuses in Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Thursday.
The win moves him closer to becoming his party’s White House flag bearer in the general election with U.S. President Joe Biden in November.
Trump was the only major candidate competing in Nevada’s caucuses and was set to win the state’s 26 delegates to the party’s nominating convention in July after being projected the winner on Thursday night by Edison Research.
Earlier on Thursday, Trump easily won the U.S. Virgin Islands caucuses, adding four to his delegate haul.
The former U.S. president won 182 votes, or 74% of the 246 votes cast there, beating his last remaining rival in the Republican race, Nikki Haley, who won 26% support with 64 votes.
The Nevada caucuses, organized by the Trump-friendly Nevada Republican Party, came two days after a state-run primary election, which saw a humiliating defeat for Haley.
Despite being the only major candidate on Tuesday’s Republican primary ballot, Haley was still roundly defeated after tens of thousands of Trump supporters turned out to mark their ballots “with none of these candidates” , an option which garnered 63% of the vote to Haley’s 30%.
After his win, Trump appeared before supporters in Las Vegas.
“I want to thank the great people of Nevada,” he said, adding that Thursday’s Supreme Court arguments “a beautiful sight to watch”.
Trump is projected to be close to winning the Republican nomination after back-to-back wins in Iowa and New Hampshire last month.
Chioma Kalu
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