June 5 :
On June 4, at the last state primaries for the 2024 presidential nomination, Donald Trump met Republican voters for the first time while facing them as a convicted felon. He continued to win over votes. With the exception of South Dakota, the former president has already secured the Republican nomination to challenge Joe Biden for president.
Trump was found guilty last week of fabricating company documents in a scheme to unlawfully influence the 2016 election. Some political watchers worried if Republican supporters could sour on his controversial candidature.
A guaranteed-win primary earlier this year was a setback for Trump, despite his dominance over other Republican presidential contenders. Even though Nikki Haley, her last remaining Republican opponent, dropped out of the race in May, she managed to garner over 22% of the vote in the Indiana primary.
With over 95% of the ballots cast and counted, Trump received 85% of the vote in New Mexico on June 4th, while Haley received 9%. In Montana, where Haley was not on the ballot, Trump received nearly 91% of the vote, with 9% choosing "no preference" and 83% of the ballots counted.
In South Dakota and New Jersey, the former president had no opposition. It remains to be seen whether the small number of Republicans who back Haley will cause problems for Trump in the general election in November, or if those people, when given the choice between Trump and Biden, will return to the former president's side when it matters the most.
Following the conclusion of her campaign, Haley received 19.2% of Nebraska's vote, 9.4% of West Virginia's, and a fifth of the Republican primary votes in Maryland.
Donald Trump enjoys the support of Haley, a former UN ambassador. Trump maintains that the historic decision has only strengthened his position, and the trial has undoubtedly contributed to his campaign's record-breaking fundraising.
Last Thursday, a jury found Trump guilty on all thirty-four counts of using false business documents to conceal a sex scandal and deceive voters during his 2016 presidential campaign, which he won handily over Hillary Clinton.
According to the prosecution, Trump had an affair with porn actress Stormy Daniels shortly after his wife Melania gave birth in 2006. Ten years later, in an effort to escape any consequences, he paid hush money. To cover it up, he even made up documents to hide it.
Just days before being formally nominated as the Republican nominee at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, his sentencing is scheduled for July 11.
Charges stemming from Trump's unprecedented efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss to Biden are among three additional criminal cases he is facing. Donors from the Republican Party seem to have come together in support of their candidate.
The campaign of the Florida millionaire claimed to have received an unprecedented $53 million in tiny online donations in the hours following the verdict's announcement, with over a third of that total coming from new contributors. A May 31st Ipsos poll found that 10% of Republican supporters would be less inclined to back Trump for president if he were convicted of fabricating company records. Even a slight decline in support from his base might have a major impact on Trump's chances in his close contest against Biden.
