Trump defeats Haley in Missouri's Republican caucuses
Donald Trump will win the Missouri Republican caucuses, the Associated Press projects, delivering yet another victory for the former president against former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
The Associated Press called the race for Trump early Saturday afternoon. The former president was expected to cruise to victory after big wins in every contest prior to Saturday.
After her loss in her home state of South Carolina, Haley vowed to remain in the race at least through Super Tuesday on March 5, where voters in 15 states will head to the polls to make their choice for president.
Even though Trump is the clear winner of the state, Missouri awards 51 of its 54 delegates through a months-long process called a "caucus-convention system" that only begins with Saturday's caucusing.
The system dictates that 11 delegates will be awarded to candidates at the state level and five will be awarded from each of Missouri's eight congressional districts. The three remaining delegates are the chairman of the Missouri Republican Party, and its national committeeman and committeewoman, who can support any candidate they wish, regardless of the caucus results.
A candidate that wins the support of more than 50% of the vote at a particular caucus site wins all the delegates at stake at that caucus. The delegates are awarded proportionately if no candidate clears the 50% threshold.
Democrats will hold their primary in Missouri on March 23.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.