What’s happening today:
- The Associated Press projected President Donald Trump as the winner of the Missouri GOP caucus.
- The Idaho Republican presidential caucuses opened at 2 p.m. ET, with voting expected to begin at 3:30 p.m. ET.
- President Donald Trump took the stage at a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, just after 2 p.m. ET. He is scheduled to appear at another rally in Virginia later today.
- Voting is ongoing in the District of Columbia for the Republican presidential primary. That contest may be the lone outlier to President Trump’s undefeated streak in the GOP nominating contest.
- In Michigan, the state’s Republican party is caucusing to apportion the rest of its delegates between President Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
Trump Takes the Stage in Greensboro as Long Lines Form for Richmond Rally
RICHMOND, Va.—President Trump took the stage at a campaign rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, shortly after 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 2.
Meanwhile, hundreds of his supporters were waiting to see him outside Richmond’s convention center. The line circled the entire block.
The first one in line, Scott Knuth of “Front Row Joes,” a group that has attended Trump rallies across the nation since 2015, said he grabbed the first spot in line by arriving at about 9:30 a.m. yesterday. He and a few friends camped out overnight to maintain their spots.
“It was pretty brutal. But we made it through, and we took turns,” Mr. Knuth told The Epoch Times about last night. “If we got really cold, we went back to the cars and slept for a couple hours and came back. But we had to hang out here to protect our spot.”
He said he had been to 43 Trump rallies. From those events he had seen “a slight change in President Trump.”
“I think he has toned down just a little bit, just a tad. He doesn’t go with all the attacks all the time. He still likes his names. And that’s his trademark; that’s what he loves. But he’s gotten more presidential, and I think he’s gotten more intuitive as to possible cabinet members,” Mr. Knuth said, adding that Trump was “bamboozled” in his first term.
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“I don’t think Trump should ever change who he is.”
—Terri Wu
Trump Wins Missouri Republican Caucus
KANSAS CITY, Mo.—President Donald Trump won the Missouri Republican presidential primary on March 2, the latest triumph in his undefeated nominating contest streak.
The Associated Press called the race for President Trump at 12:40 p.m. ET with just 5 percent of the votes counted.
The first voting results out of Missouri’s GOP caucus indicated a likely significant win for former President Donald Trump.
Ben Watson caucused for former President Donald Trump because “he gave us a lot better prosperity when he was in office.”
“Almost everything (President Trump) did helped America prosper,” Mr. Watson said. “Whereas the current president, everything he’s done helped America flounder.”
The Watsons were selling memorabilia to support the Clay County GOP. Mr. Watson’s 3D printing business is called Triad Delta. He regularly makes Republican Party elephants for distribution at local party events and was giving away whistles he made.
Dave Bennett said he previously supported another Republican Party candidate for its presidential nomination but has moved to former President Donald Trump.
“I stand for all the policies he stands for. He’s perfect for me,” Mr. Bennett told The Epoch Times.
Keith Bennett of Kansas City, Missouri, said he will be caucusing for former President Donald Trump because “he’s our best chance to defeat (President Joe Biden).”
“I like the fact that he’s not really a politician. I don’t think he can be bought,” Mr. Bennett told The Epoch Times.
“I think he’s got some challenges ahead of him, clearly. But, I’m hopeful that he can united people in a way that the standard politicians can’t.”
Michigan Republicans Await Pizza and Results
Matt Marko and David Schell, both of the North Oakland Republican Club, were waiting for more pizza when they spoke with The Epoch Times.
Mr. Schell, a conservative meme maker on social media, wassporting a “Trump 2024” ball cap.
The vote in their district was still ongoing.
The two denied being with either a pro-Karamo faction or a pro-Hoekstra faction: “We just want what’s best for the party,” Mr. Marko said.
“We need to come together or we’re not going to win,” Mr. Schell added.
Oakland County, north of Detroit, was once the home of the Romney family, associated with old-school country club Republicanism. Mitt Romney’s father, George Romney, was governor of the state during the 1960s.
The two men said President Trump has drawn in many more voters than earlier Republicans.
“Trump has brought in more grassroots as a populist. The Republican Party has totally changed–and it’s great,” Mr. Schell said.
Soon, a few more pizzas arrived.
—Nathan Worcester
‘Only Chance the Democrats Have Is If We Implode as a Party’
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—Reid Scott was standing outside the Amway Grand Plaza when he spoke with The Epoch Times as the caucus convention was getting underway.
The Grand Rapids event is competing with other caucuses elsewhere in the state against the backdrop of a leadership dispute between Pete Hoekstra, recognized by the RNC, and Kristina Karamo, who ended up canceling the main rival convention that was slated for Detroit.
Mr. Scott said he has seen a few protesters against the Hoekstra-led event. He hopes Republicans will come together before the general election in November when Michigan will be a key battleground state.
“The only chance that Democrats have to win is if we implode as a party, and I’m very worried,” he said.
—Nathan Worcester
More Michigan Districts Vote Overwhelmingly for Trump
As the vote rolls in at Michigan’s caucus convention in Grand Rapids, the unofficial totals continue to overwhelmingly favor President Trump.
Percentages ranged from 94.12 percent to 98.31 percent for President Trump.
—Nathan Worcester
Idaho Caucus Likely to Decide on GOP Nominee After Rule Change
A state law is creating confusion ahead of Idaho’s presidential nominating process.
The state legislature overwhelmingly passed HB138 in 2023 in an effort to save money and consolidate Idaho’s primary elections. Previously, Idahoans voted on presidential nominees on the second Tuesday in March, while primaries for state-level races were held on the third Tuesday in May.
While lawmakers intended to move the presidential nominating process to the same date as the state-level primaries, that additional step wasn’t taken. It effectively canceled Idaho’s presidential primary.
Idaho’s Republican State Central Committee said they passed a resolution “urging the legislature to reinstate the March presidential primary,” but will use Saturday’s caucus results for deciding on the presidential nominee “in the event that the March presidential primary is not restored.”
Idaho Republicans can vote in state caucuses at 3:30 p.m. EST but may check in as early as 2:00 p.m. EST. There is no set end time for the caucuses, but results are expected to roll in by the early evening hours.
The Democratic caucus is currently scheduled for May 23.
—Jacob Burg
The State GOP Board in Grand Rapids
A screen at the March 2 caucus convention in Grand Rapids, the main event even as competing caucuses occur elsewhere in the state, is mostly blank.
An insider tells The Epoch Times that if more than fifty percent of the vote from each district goes to President Trump, all 39 delegates at stake today will go for him as well. Results could come in within two or three hours.
Of the 16 delegates awarded as part of the Feb. 27 primary, 12 went to President Trump, while 4 went to Ms. Haley. President Trump earned 68.1 percent of the vote to Ms. Haley’s 26.6 percent.
Trump Returns to Richmond, Virginia, After Seven Years
LEESBURG, Va.—Former President Donald Trump is visiting Richmond, Virginia, for a “Get Out the Vote” rally on March 2, days before Super Tuesday. The event starts at 6 p.m.; doors are open to attendees at 3 p.m.
His only remaining rival, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, was in the same city last Thursday.
She held her rally at the Westin Richmond Hotel, with a maximum capacity of 600. In comparison, Trump’s venue—the Richmond Convention Center’s exhibit hall theater—holds 2,880 people. Haley also stopped by Falls Church in northern Virginia, the most populated blue area.
As the capital of the Commonwealth, Richmond is a central location within reasonable driving distance for all Virginians. It is also a blue hub surrounded by red counties—Trump lost to President Joe Biden in Richmond City by almost 70 points in the 2020 general election.
Trump returns to Richmond after seven years. He last came to the city in June 2016 before securing the Republican nomination a month later.
Shannon Ridgley, a 53-year-old government worker in Loudoun County, just cast her vote for Trump in the Republican primary today.
She knows about today’s Trump rally but couldn’t attend.
“I think he needs to make a showing here. He needs to be seen,” she told The Epoch Times.
She has a message for Trump, “Tone down the message a little bit Trump but you know your policies are good.”
—Terri Wu
In Grand Rapids, Second District Hears from Possible RNC Delegates
At the Republican state convention in Grand Rapids, the Second District’s meeting is underway.
On stage, Andrew Sebolt asks possible candidates to serve as delegates to the Republican National Convention (RNC) to speak. It’s early in a process that could last a few hours or many more.
“They’re all for Trump,” Sebolt says of a list of possible delegates he’s examined.
“We all love Trump as RNC delegates,” he says later while introducing one potential delegate, Linda Lee Tarver of Black Voices for Trump, who said she is running for RNC national committeewoman.
“I love this party. I love what it stands for,” Ms. Tarver tells the crowd before outlining her experience raising money and working on election integrity for the GOP in the state.
She described being labeled a “racist white supremacist” by a local newspaper, eliciting chuckles from the crowd.
—Nathan Worcester
Likely Pro-Trump Vote Looms in Grand Rapids
At the Amway Grand Plaza, Republican delegates from many parts of the state are voting or preparing to vote on the allocation of the remaining delegates the state will send to the Republican National Convention.
An insider told The Epoch Times that the vote is likely to go very much in favor of former President Donald Trump. Individuals favoring former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley are few and far between.
Meanwhile, rival meetings are taking place elsewhere in the state, downstream of a leadership battle between former Congressman Pete Hoekstra and Kristina Karamo over who is really in charge of the state Republican Party. Yet, a planned convention in Detroit led by the Karamo faction was ultimately canceled, a strong sign for Mr. Hoekstra’s faction after a judge ruled just days ago that he is the rightful GOP chair.
—Nathan Worcester
Missouri Republicans Head to the Caucuses
KANSAS CITY, Missouri—Caucusgoers are arriving early for the Missouri GOP Caucus at the Clay County, Missouri, location in suburban Kansas City. As many as 1000 are expected to attend.
A number of the voters are wearing red Make America Great Again hats or memorabilia supporting former President Donald Trump.
The Missouri Republican Party will host caucuses in all 114 of the state’s counties and St. Louis City. The caucuses will begin the three-step process of assigning delegates that will ultimately support one candidate at the RNC Convention in Milwaukee in July.
Missouri Republican Party Chairman Nick Myers told The Epoch Times all of the caucuses will begin at the same time, 10 a.m. Central Standard Time, and they should last for a number of hours. At the events, caucusgoers will participate in a presidential preference poll where they move to one side of the room or the other to indicate their allegiance. A candidate needs more than 50 percent of the vote to win the caucus.
Multiple Michigan GOP Conventions Spell Uncertainty for Saturday Party Caucus
A battle over Michigan GOP leadership is creating confusion for party factions ahead of the Great Lakes State’s Republican convention caucus today.
After former state chairwoman Kristina Karamo was ousted from party leadership in January and replaced with Pete Hoekstra, multiple conventions have been scheduled throughout the state for Saturday.
Mr. Hoekstra was endorsed by former President Donald Trump and scheduled a convention in Grand Rapids. Ms. Karamo, who was ordered by a judge this week to stop calling herself the party chair, had scheduled a convention in Detroit.
A judge rejected Ms. Karamo’s request to invalidate Mr. Hoekstra’s Grand Rapids convention, leaving delegations from 24 counties in uncertainty as they missed the deadline to register for the Grand Rapids convention.
Leaders in the 1st and 4th District Republican parties were left to organize their own Saturday conventions. The 1st District is planning to meet in Houghton Lake, while the 4th District plans to meet in Battle Creek, according to 4th District chairman Ken Beyer.
—Jacob Burg
Haley Strives for Potential First Primary Win in DC
WASHINGTON—The Republican primary in the nation’s capital represents presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s best chance to secure her first primary victory.
The district has 19 delegates up for grabs in a winner-take-all race. Ms. Haley held a rally on the first day of the primary on March 1 at the Madison Hotel, the only location where D.C. Republicans could cast their votes. The polls will close on March 3.
The 2020 Republican primary here was uncontested, but in 2016, former president Donald Trump finished in a distant third behind Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
Over 200 attendees packed the hotel room, showing their support for a candidate they describe as “level-headed,” “smart,” and “a good alternative.”
—Terri Wu
First Senator Endorses Haley, Days Before Super Tuesday
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is endorsing Nikki Haley for president.
On March 1, ahead of the Super Tuesday voting in 15 states, including The Last Frontier, Ms. Murkowski formally endorsed the former U.N. Ambassador. It’s Ms. Haley’s first endorsement in the Senate.
In a release, Ms. Murkowski said the country needs “someone with the right values, vigor, and judgment” to serve as the next president.
“In this race, there is no one better than her,” Ms. Murkowksi said. “Nikki will be a strong leader and uphold the ideals of the Republican Party while serving as a president for all Americans.”
In her statement, Ms. Haley said Ms. Murkowski represents the “best of Alaska.”
“She is a trailblazer and a strong, independent voice who doesn’t bow down to the powers that be in Washington,” Ms. Haley said. “As president, I will fight to make Alaskans—and all Americans—proud by restoring fiscal sanity, energy dominance, and limited government.”
—Austin Alonzo
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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