Trump had earlier endorsed a rival candidate in the February contest for Michigan Republican Party chair, but he personally congratulated Karamo when he saw her at the Conservative Political Action Conference in early March, according to a person familiar with the exchange. In Michigan, he has worked to ensure he is on smooth footing with Kristina Karamo, the state’s newly elected party chair. When the Missouri Republican Party met in February, Trump called the state party chair, Nick Myers, who put the former president on speakerphone so he could address the audience. When Trump isn’t with future delegates in-person, he is finding other ways to reach them. Over steaks and ice cream, Trump talked about the political landscape in the state, which traditionally hosts an early nominating contest. In early March, the former president hosted roughly a dozen Nevada Republican Party leaders for a three-hour dinner. Trump is also using the trappings of his gilded Mar-a-Lago estate to woo would-be delegates.

And when Trump launched his 2024 bid, his first campaign stop was at a meeting of the New Hampshire Republican Party. He also has placed full-page ads in Iowa Republican Party publications. State party leaders and others who are active in Republican politics typically become delegates - and Trump has lavished attention on them since leaving the White House.ĭuring Trump-hosted rallies ahead of the 2022 midterm election, local Republican Party chairs were frequently given speaking time, and last year the former president spoke remotely to a meeting of the South Carolina GOP executive committee. That, in turn, makes them targets of wooing. While those delegates are bound to specific candidates at the beginning of the convention process, they can become unbound in the event of a contested convention or if their candidate releases them. Whichever candidate wins a simple majority of those delegates at the national convention next year will become the nominee. Presidential primaries and caucuses don’t elect candidates, they elect delegates. “No other presidential campaign or potential campaign has reached out to us,” Davis added.

“President Trump is in a much better position in Louisiana than he was in 2016. They’ve been in touch with us a number of times,” said Rhett Davis, a consultant to the Louisiana GOP. The courtship illustrates Trump’s transformation as a presidential candidate - from the political newcomer of 2016 who oversaw a chaotic operation, to the experienced campaigner now playing the inside game. The effort will intensify in the weeks to come, with Trump expected to make appearances at state party events that will be filled with future national delegates. He’s been dining with them at Mar-a-Lago, chatting them up at party events and offering them endorsements.

Now engaged in another delegate battle, Trump has been aggressively courting party leaders - in Louisiana and elsewhere - who are expected to be delegates at the party’s 2024 convention in Milwaukee. Trump arrives at a campaign rally on Thursday, April 27, 2023, in Manchester, N.H.

Trump news conference today