Campaign

Trump wins Texas primary, extending dominance over GOP

by Alex Gangitano - 03/05/24 9:00 PM ET

Former President Trump won Texas’s GOP primary Tuesday, according to a projection from Decision Desk HQ, boosting his Super Tuesday dominance.

Trump’s win in ruby-red Texas gives him firm footing in southern conservative states, where he is expected to sweep this campaign. The former president has focused much of his campaign on immigration and blaming President Biden for the influx at migrants at the U.S. southern border, which is a message that is expected to strongly resonate with Texans.

Trump has dominated throughout most of the Super Tuesday contests, already winning a total of nine states and netting him hundreds of additional delegates toward the nomination. Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley has so far not come close to Trump’s margin in any of the states that have been called, though she and the former president are locked in a tight race in Vermont.

Trump visited Texas on Thursday to go to the border alongside Gov. Greg Abbott (R). His trip to the state coincided with Biden’s visit to another border town in Texas on the same day.

The former president, who famously ran in 2016 with the “build a wall” slogan, is considering stricter immigration policies, according to multiple reports, including mass detentions. While he has consistently bashed Biden for his border policies, polling has shown voters trust Trump on immigration more than Biden and that a sizable number of Americans think it is a pressing issue.

Trump and Republicans have leaned into the border as a vulnerability for Biden, while the president has tried to use Trump’s hand in getting Republicans to kill a bipartisan proposal that would have bolstered resources at the southern border as a political winner.

Trump’s win in Texas was another hit to Haley. He has significantly led the primary polls for months and dominated the Republican primaries, including in Michigan last week and in South Carolina earlier this month.

Trump beat Biden in Texas in 2020 with more than 52 percent of the vote.

Tags Joe Biden Nikki Haley