Trump wins Florida GOP primary

Former President Trump has won the Republican primary in Florida, according to Decision Desk HQ.

Trump earlier this month crossed the delegate threshold needed to secure the Republican nod, and the 125 delegates up for grabs in the Sunshine State’s GOP contest will only add to his support after former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley dropped out of the primary. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who had also lodged a 2024 bid, was favored at the start of last year to become the top alternative to the former president — but after losing steam at the end of last year and coming in at a distant second place in Iowa this January, DeSantis suspended his bid and threw his weight behind Trump.

Trump is now headed toward a general election rematch with President Biden, who has also clinched the Democratic nomination as he tries for another four years in the White House. The Florida state Democratic party decided not to hold a Democratic primary with Biden as the only candidate on the ballot, a move some of Biden’s long-shot challengers have decried. 

According to polling averages from Decision Desk HQ/The Hill, Trump leads Biden by 12.9 points in a general election match-up in the state. 

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate is notably in Palm Beach, where the FBI executed a search warrant in 2022 and recovered hundreds of documents that were marked as classified and kept at the Florida resort past Trump’s time in office — leading to an indictment on multiple of charges after special counsel Jack Smith investigated. Judge Aileen Cannon has set a May trial date as Trump’s team demands a delay. Cannon last week rejected a motion to dismiss the case.