The Republican presidential primary season is over. It’s Trump’s party now

This past weekend, Donald Trump’s absolute dominance of the Republican Party was solidified. Within the span of a couple days, Mr Trump earned the endorsement of fellow presidential candidates Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, whom he perpetually demeaned.

Mr DeSantis’s decision to exit the race will likely hurt former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley ahead of the New Hampshire primary. Many of his supporters will likely flock to Mr Trump, therefore widening Mr Trump’s margin of victory. Mr Scott’s endorsement adds another body blow to Ms Haley, given that back in 2012, she was the one who nominated him to fill South Carolina’s open Senate seat, catapulting him to national fame.

On Monday, Congresswoman Nancy Mace of South Carolina also announced that she would endorse Mr Trump. That’s the same Ms Mace who said, after January 6, that Mr Trump’s “entire legacy was wiped out yesterday”. Not only that, but Mr Trump endorsed her primary opponent in 2022. And she and Ms Haley are both Republican women from the Palmetto state. The significance of Ms Mace’s endorsement, therefore, can’t be overstated.

The avalanche of endorsements Mr Trump received after his devastating victory in the Iowa caucuses shows that Republican elites have acknowledged what everyone else already knew but would not dare to say: The Republican presidential primary is essentially over. It’s the Trump party now.

Primary contests often end before candidates secure the sufficient amount of delegates. Joe Biden all but won the Democratic nomination after winning the South Carolina primary in 2020. That led to a similar cascade of endorsements, because Democratic lawmakers knew he would win in the multiple Southern