Former President Donald Trump easily won Idaho’s GOP caucus on March 2, beating former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in a landslide.
The race was called shortly before 7 p.m. ET with President Trump winning 84.6 percent of the vote to Ms. Haley’s 13.5 percent.
This is President Trump’s second win in the Gem State after carrying 94.5 percent of the vote in 2020 as the GOP incumbent, grabbing all 32 of Idaho’s available delegates.
However, in the 2016 GOP primaries, President Trump came in a distant second to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a politician known for his staunch conservatism. Since Ms. Haley has fared better in states and districts that tend to support Democrats in elections, many did not see a path to victory in the Gem State for the former South Carolina governor.
This was compounded by several key endorsements from Idaho Republicans ahead of the March 2 caucus.
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) both endorsed President Trump on Jan. 22, right before the first GOP primary of 2024 in New Hampshire.
“President Trump grew our stagnant economy, restored our military strength, dramatically reduced federal regulations, and strengthened our borders. I stand with Donald Trump and pledge to help him get back to our country’s core values and aspirations,” Mr. Crapo said in a statement, adding that President Trump will “put America and Americans first.”
Mr. Simpson, also in a statement, said, “America was stronger, more prosperous, and safer under the leadership of President Trump. He believes President Joe Biden is “fundamentally out-of-touch with the American people.”
Mr. Simpson encouraged other Idaho Republicans to vote for President Trump in the March 2 caucus, but it’s not clear how much his and Mr. Crapo’s endorsements affected Saturday’s outcome.
Recent polls for the GOP nomination have President Trump at 78.7 percent nationally and Ms. Haley at 15.3 percent—a 63.4 percent difference, according to RealClearPolitics.
As the GOP inches closer to Super Tuesday, many already see President Trump as the presumptive nominee of the party.
Originally, Idahoans were supposed to decide on their presidential nominee during a March primary. But, a recent state law created confusion ahead of Idaho’s March 2 caucuses.
While lawmakers intended to move the presidential nominating process to the same date as the state-level primaries, that additional step wasn’t taken. The move effectively canceled Idaho’s presidential primary.
Idaho’s Republican State Central Committee said they passed a resolution “urging the legislature to reinstate the March presidential primary” but intend to use Saturday’s caucus results for deciding on the presidential nominee “in the event that the March presidential primary is not restored.”
The last time Idaho Republicans held presidential caucuses was on Super Tuesday in 2012, which saw current Utah Sen. Mitt Romney win with 62 percent of the vote.
This time, Idaho Republicans started voting in the state caucuses at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday but were allowed to check in as early as 2:00 p.m. ET.
Much like Iowa’s GOP caucuses in January, Republicans in Idaho met in their designated caucus sites and voted by secret ballot after hearing short pitches on behalf of each respective candidate.
Once each caucus site tallied its votes, those totals were added together to award delegates for the entire state. Based on the Idaho GOP’s rules, all of the 32 available delegates are awarded to the candidate that receives more than 50 percent of the statewide vote.
In the event of no candidates receiving a majority, the delegates are instead awarded proportionally based on the statewide vote results. A candidate must receive at least 15 percent of the vote to receive any delegates in Idaho’s GOP caucus.
Idaho’s Democratic caucus is currently scheduled for May 23.
