Donald Trump secures a significant victory as the California GOP adopts a winner-takes-all delegate plan for the 2024 presidential nomination.

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In a major move that could significantly impact the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race, the California Republican Party overwhelmingly voted in favor of a winner-takes-all delegate plan for their March 5 primary. The rule change means that if a candidate wins a majority of the vote in the primary, they will receive all 169 presidential delegates from California.

The winner-takes-all provision is seen as favorable to former President Donald Trump, who is a popular figure in the party and an early frontrunner in the crowded 2024 GOP field. The change was approved with a 53-16 vote by the California GOP’s Executive Committee over the weekend.

If no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote in the Super Tuesday primary, the delegates will be awarded proportionally based on the candidates’ share of the vote. However, the winner-takes-all provision is expected to benefit a frontrunner like Trump over other candidates.

Trump’s campaign spokesperson, Steven Cheung, hailed the decision as a “humiliating defeat” for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, one of Trump’s strongest rivals. The Trump campaign looks forward to competing in California and aiming to win all of its delegates, similar to Trump’s successes in the 2016 and 2020 elections.

Governor DeSantis’ campaign had been closely monitoring the delegate plans in various states. While the campaign did not respond to questions about their conversations with the California GOP, they remain confident that DeSantis will become the Republican nominee and the 47th president of the United States.

California has the most delegates to award among all states, making its delegate haul highly valuable in the race to secure the majority of the over 2,000 Republican delegates and clinch the party’s nomination.

The process of awarding delegates is set by state parties, and Trump and his team have been working for years to influence these rules. Ahead of the 2020 election, many state Republican parties made changes to their rules, adding more winner-take-all contests and setting higher thresholds for candidates to claim delegates.

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The California GOP’s rule change is significant due to the number of delegates at stake. An earlier proposal that could have allowed a second-place finisher to collect more delegates drew outrage from some Trump supporters on social media, who saw it as a plot to harm Trump.

With the winner-takes-all provision now in place, California becomes a crucial battleground for Republican candidates, and the outcome could have a significant impact on the overall nomination race. The primary process will be closely watched as candidates strive to make their case to California voters.