Skip to content

Trump Changed GOP Rules to Make Winning the Nomination Even Easier — for Trump

  • Trump’s takeover of GOP helped him to write the delegate rules
  • The number winner-take-all states has grown from seven to 17
Donald Trump speaks during the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in 2016.
Donald Trump speaks during the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in 2016.Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Republicans seeking to keep Donald Trump from becoming their party’s nominee will have to overcome rules even more favorable to the former president than the ones that helped him clinch the 2016 nomination.

In 2024, more states will award delegates through winner-take-all primaries — a system that helped Trump when opponents divided the vote, allowing him to be awarded all or most of the delegates with less than majority support.