Former President Donald Trump has secured his position as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee for the third consecutive time, following a series of decisive victories in primary and caucus contests. The Associated Press officially declared Trump as the presumptive nominee after his recent wins in Georgia, Mississippi, and Washington, where he garnered at least 126 delegates, surpassing the required 1,215 threshold.
Trump's victory in Washington was solidified by his majority win in the statewide vote, granting him the majority of the state's 43 delegates. Delegates in Washington are allocated based on both the statewide vote and individual congressional district votes, with candidates needing at least 20% of the vote to qualify for any delegates.
With just 30 delegates shy of the required number as the polls closed in Washington, Trump's lead was further solidified by his anticipated majority wins in most, if not all, of the state's congressional districts. This swift path to securing the nomination mirrors his 2020 bid as the incumbent, rather than his 2016 campaign as a first-time candidate.
Trump's delegate milestone was reached 57 days after the start of delegate allocations, a faster pace compared to his 2016 campaign. The former president's success was also attributed to the varying delegate rules across states, which often favor front-runners and make it challenging for trailing candidates to accumulate delegates.
Having come close to clinching the nomination after Super Tuesday and American Samoa's caucuses, Trump needed to secure about 78% of the available delegates in the recent contests, a target he comfortably achieved given his strong performance in previous primaries.
While Trump has unofficially secured the nomination, the official confirmation will come at the Republican National Convention later this year, where the party's nominee will be formally selected.
