POLITICS
What happens to the delegates when a candidate drops out of the primaries?
Nikki Haley has pulled out of the Republican primaries leaving Donald Trump as the sole candidate. Where do her delegates go?
Donald Trump is set to become the Republican party’s presidential candidate for a third time, joining a very small group of politicans to have achieved that. His main rival, if Nikki Haley could have been called that, has thrown in the towel; it will be Trump versus Biden again unless some unexpected fate were to befall either man.
With a majority of states declaring where their delegates will be going come the Republican National Convention (RNC), Haley did actually claim some support. She managed to secure 89 delegates, though this is paltry compared to Trump’s mighty 1,031. 1,215 are needed to secure the nomination.
Haley isn’t alone with her rogue delegates. Ron DeSantis’ ill-fated run for the Oval office also managed to net him 9 delegates, while Vivek Ramaswamy also has 3. What happens to these delegates for the upcoming convention now their candidate has dropped out?
The rules surrounding delegates at the Republican convention
The RNC is a crucial event in the United States political calendar, where the Republican Party officially nominates its candidate for the upcoming presidential election. One of the central elements of the convention is the delegates, who represent the various states and territories, and play the central role in selecting the party’s nominee. Of course, if Donald Trump is the only candidate on the ballot then he will be the pick.
Delegates are bound to support specific candidates based on the outcomes of their state primaries and caucuses. However, in most cases if a candidate drops out of the race before the convention, as has happened with Haley, their delegates become unbound, giving them the freedom to realign their support with another candidate still in contention.
However, certain states have rules which prevent delegates from changing who they support. According to Ballotpedia, GOP rules in Iowa and Virginia mean chosen delegates must continue to support their candidate regardless if he or she has suspended a campaign.