Donald J. Trump holds a rally in Michigan in March, 2016.
Donald Trump has the Northern Mariana Islands Republican caucus, a U.S. territory that consists of 15 islands in the Pacific Ocean and 9 delegates. Jason Osborne, who was the executive director of the local Republican Party, said Trump won 73% of the vote and will win all nine delegates.
Breaking News: @realDonaldTrump has just been declared the winner of the CNMI Rep Caucus with 72.8% of the vote. Winner take all to Trump
— Jason Osborne (@_JasonOsborne) March 15, 2016
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz followed far behind Mr. Trump with just 24%. But it was leaps and bounds ahead of both Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who registered support. Gov. Kasich took .02% and Sen. Rubio .01% of 471 total votes.
Osborne—who is now advising Trump—previously worked as a senior communications adviser to retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who endorsed Trump last week.
Last week, the governor of the Northern Mariana Islands, Ralph Torres, threw his support behind Trump.
“I encouraged CNMI GOP voters to come out and exercise their right and vote for their preferred presidential nominee. I am overwhelmed by the turnout and their support for my endorsement of Mr. Donald Trump. I thank all the voters for participating in this important process. The attention the CNMI has received this presidential cycle from all the candidates has truly shown that our votes matter,” Torres said in a statement.
While Mr. Trump’s win in the Northern Mariana Islands is a small delegate haul, it is significant in that he is now the only Republican candidate to qualify under convention rules to be considered for the nomination. A candidate must win 8 state contests and at least half of the needed 1,237 delegates to secure the Republican nomination.
