(The Center Square) – Former President Donald Trump handily defeated former South Carolina Governor and Ambassador Nikki Haley in the Michigan primary Tuesday, but another batch of delegates are up for grabs in the states’ caucus on Saturday.
Trump received about 68% of the vote in Michigan, compared to Haley’s nearly 27%. Trump won 12 delegates, bringing his total to 122 while Haley received 4, raising her total to 24 delegates.
President Joe Biden won Michigan and is largely unopposed in his race for the Democrat nomination, however a sizeable minority of Democrats in Michigan voted “uncommitted.” The “uncommitted” vote was mostly organized by Democratic voters upset over Biden’s stance on the Israel-Gaza war. The effort took about 13% of the vote and two delegates from Biden.
Biden’s supporters, though, backed the president and touted his win.
“Biden did better in the Michigan primary against his opponents than Trump did in the Michigan primary against his opponent,” Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Biden overperformed. Trump underperformed. That’s what the numbers show.”
On Saturday, under the state’s unique Republican party rules, another 39 delegates will be awarded via a caucus system on Saturday.
“Haley got trounced last night, losing the Great State of Michigan by over 42 Points,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial Wednesday. “Looking forward to Super Tuesday where she is doing even worse, if that’s possible. I’m leading every State by over 60 Points! People don’t like her, and they know, as per the polls, that she can’t beat Biden, or any Democrat!”
As Trump noted, both candidates already have an eye on Super Tuesday next week where more than a dozen states will choose their pick for the race. A landmark day in the primary, a sweeping win for Trump in those states would pressure Haley even more to drop out of the race.
On Wednesday, Haley hinted that Trump was unelectable and that Biden, who is 81-years-old, is bound to be replaced.
The GOP has to be a party of addition, not subtraction,” Haley wrote on X, formerly known as or else we’ll be doomed to a President Kamala Harris.”
Trump has responded to the electability argument with the latest polling, which shows him beating Biden in several swing states, though recent polling has shown Haley performs better against Biden in several states.
