GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — Former President Donald Trump won all the remaining delegates from the Michigan Republican Party at the MIGOP convention.
Republicans from all over the state gathered in Grand Rapids Saturday to select delegates for the national convention.
Trump won all 39 of the remaining delegates. The other 16 were decided on election day, leaving Trump with 51 of the 55 total state delegates.
Pete Hoekstra led the caucus as the formally-recognized chair of the state party.
Former chair Kristina Karamo attempted to have her own convention in Detroit. This was shut down days before the caucus, when a judge ruled that Kristina Karamo's removal from her position as Michigan Republican Party Chair was legal.
While this choice made deciding delegates a smoother process, experts said it's telling of larger divides in the party.
"The state party is a mess. The state party is an absolute complete smoldering fire of wreckage," said Don Zinman, a professor of Political Science at Grand Valley State University. "You need a strong state party to, you know, push you push you across the finish line in a general election, in a close race."
However, it's not just the Republicans facing problems, with over 100,000 Democrats voting uncommitted in the Michigan primary.
"The Democrats have the issues with the Arab and Muslim vote," Zinman said. "Not that they would defect to Trump, but just that they would take a walk on election day, because of what's going on in Israel."
Both big campaigns are having popularity issues in the state, solidifying Michigan's place as a swing state once again.
"This is becoming more of a battleground state," said Corwin Smidt, an associate professor at Michigan State University. "Democrats still look like they're having an advantage within the state in terms of popular support. Now, this is true for everyone, most everyone except Biden."
Zinman also said many Republicans will refuse to vote for Trump, favoring other options like Nikki Haley.
Trump won 97.7% of Saturday's votes. Haley received only 2.23%. However, Haley has said she plans to stay in the race until Super Tuesday.
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