And there is precedent for the committee declaring a candidate the presumptive nominee before winning the 1,215 requisite delegates to clinch the nomination.
In May 2016, then-RNC Chairman Reince Priebus declared Trump the presumptive nominee before he had the appropriate share of delegates wrapped up.
Despite losing both the Iowa and New Hampshire contests to Trump, Haley has argued that her performance — outlasting all the other Trump rivals — shows the strength of her candidacy.
Neither the Haley campaign nor the Trump campaign returned messages seeking comment on Thursday.
“I’ve heard a lot of elected officials in the Republican Party, including the RNC chair, say, ‘We need to rally around a candidate.’ That this is going to be our candidate.
Persons:
Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, “, Trump, Ronna McDaniel, Haley, McDaniel, Bill Palatucci, Chris Christie, ” Palatucci, ”, Joe Biden, Reince Priebus, Haley —, —, MAGA, ” Trump, “ You’ve, ” Petrizzo, Biden, “ I’ve, ___ Beaumont, Zeke Miller, ___ Meg Kinnard
Organizations:
COLUMBIA, Republican National Committee, United Nations, Trump, GOP, Associated Press, Team Trump, ”, The Dispatch, New, New Jersey Republican National, RNC, Republican Party, Democratic, —, Capitol Hill
Locations:
United States, New Hampshire, Las Vegas, New Jersey, Iowa, South Carolina, Des Moines , Iowa, Washington