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Former President Donald Trump ran away with Michigan’s Republican primary Tuesday night, cruising past rival Nikki Haley to secure his sixth consecutive win in a GOP contest.

With about two-thirds of the expected vote counted as of early Wednesday, the 77-year-old Trump had 68.1% support compared to 26.7% for Haley.

The former president has now defeated Haley by double-digits in five states and the US Virgin Islands.

Trump thanked his supporters attending a Michigan GOP watch party via phone, calling his margin of victory “far greater” than he expected. 

“I just want to thank everybody, you’ve been so incredible. The numbers are far greater than we even anticipated,” Trump said on the call. 

“We win Michigan; we win the whole thing,” he added, noting that November “cannot come fast enough.” 


  Donald Trump speaks during a Get Out the Vote Rally and campaign event at the Elite Jet Center in Waterford Township, Michigan, 17 February. TESS CROWLEY/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Donald Trump speaks during a Get Out the Vote Rally and campaign event at the Elite Jet Center in Waterford Township, Michigan, 17 February. TESS CROWLEY/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Michigan Republican Party Chairman Pete Hoekstra declared that Trump was the GOP’s “presumptive nominee” at the Grand Rapids watch party, according to NBC News.

Haley campaign spokeswoman Olivia Perez-Cubas argued that “losing about 35% of the vote” should serve as a “flashing warning sign for Trump in November.”

In a statement, Perez-Cubas also noted that since Trump’s 2016 victory in the state over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “he lost Michigan Republicans the state House, state Senate, and Governor’s mansion.” 

“Let this serve as another warning sign that what has happened in Michigan will continue to play out across the country,” Perez-Cubas continued. “So long as Donald Trump is at the top of the ticket, Republicans will keep losing to the socialist left. Our children deserve better.”


  Supporters hold signs before Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump attends a campaign rally in Waterford Township, Mich., Saturday, Feb. 17. AP Supporters hold signs before Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump attends a campaign rally in Waterford Township, Mich., Saturday, Feb. 17. AP

Despite her string of defeats, the former South Carolina governor has vowed to continue her presidential bid at least through the March 5 Super Tuesday slate, when 874 delegates are available across 16 primaries and caucuses.

Haley, 52, courted Michigan voters the morning after her 20-point loss in South Carolina’s Saturday primary, arguing that polls showed she was the only candidate who could defeat President Biden in the general election.

Haley also claimed the former president had left the Michigan GOP “completely divided” over his claims that election fraud robbed him of victory in 2020.

On Tuesday morning, Haley refused to define what a “loss” would look like for her in Michigan, but said her goal was to remain “competitive.”

“I will continue to say our goal is to be competitive. It’s always been to be competitive. And if you’re getting 40% in all the early states, that’s making a point,” she told “CNN News Central.”

For Trump — who has changed his rhetoric to focus on the general election rather than Haley — Michigan is a predictor for how the former president will do in the state come November.

The 45th president first visited the Wolverine State in September as the other GOP candidates faced off in the second primary debate in California. Trump then returned to Michigan on Feb. 17, making his final pitch to voters in the battleground state.

Trump lost to Biden in Michigan by just over 154,000 votes in 2020 after winning the state over Clinton by a little more than 10,000 votes in 2016.

An Emerson College Polling/The Hill poll released Monday showed Trump edging Biden in the state by two percentage points, with 10% of voters still undecided.

The president also won Michigan by a wide margin Tuesday night, defeating Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.).


  Nikki Haley speaks with reporters ahead of a campaign rally on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. AP Nikki Haley speaks with reporters ahead of a campaign rally on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. AP


  Audience members listen as Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event at the Amway Grand Plaza on February 26. Getty Images Audience members listen as Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event at the Amway Grand Plaza on February 26. Getty Images

Michigan’s primary moved up in the calendar after Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed off on shifting the state to be third in the party’s official calendar, per President Biden’s suggestion.

The date change prompted the state GOP to coordinate with the Republican National Committee to come up with a plan that didn’t go against the RNC rules prohibiting early contests.

The Republican compromise led to a system in which the Tuesday primary determined how 16 of the state’s 55 delegates will be awarded, while the 39 other delegates will be awarded at a Saturday state party convention — which Trump is once again expected to dominate.

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