Donald Trump clinches GOP presidential nomination with win in Washington

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FILE - Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Hilton Anatole on August 06, 2022, in Dallas, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

SEATTLE - Former President Donald Trump has won Washington's Presidential Primary Election, according to projections from the Associated Press. With the win in Washington, he now has the GOP nomination.

Washington is among three other states (Georgia, Hawaii and Mississippi) holding Presidential Primaries on Tuesday, March 12.

Ahead of the polls closing in Washington, President Joe Biden has already won enough delegates to secure his party's presidential nomination in the upcoming primary and general elections.

Trump, however, clinched his nomination with 30 delegates from Washington.

The Republican contests will have 161 delegates up for grabs this Tuesday. The Democrats can win 254 delegates. Trump needed 126 of the 161 to cross the threshold. Washington has 43 delegates to award to the GOP Convention and 92 for the Democrats.

Impact of ‘uncommitted votes'

The Presidential Primary is the only election in Washington that requires voters to mark and sign party declarations written by the major political parties. Your ballot is divided into two sides: Democratic Party (blue) and Republican Party (red). You must vote for one candidate from the political party you marked on your envelope.

However, your ballot will also have an option to vote for "uncommitted delegates."

A vote for "uncommitted delegates" allows uncommitted delegates who represent Washington to decide during their national convention later this year, according to the Washington Secretary of State.

Last week, almost a fifth of votes cast in Minnesota's Democratic Presidential Primary were for "uncommittted delegates." This move comes as a form of protest of Israel's war in Gaza, and particularly, Biden's handling of it. An "uncommitted vote" is one less for Biden, which advocates hope will be a loud message for the President, despite the fact that he has already clinched his delegates.

When polls closed on Tuesday, 20 uncommitted delegate votes were for Biden.

The uncommitted option was requested by the Democratic Party. It was not requested by the Republican Party.

Voters could select one candidate or the uncommitted option, but not both.

Who was on the ballot

Back in January, the Washington Secretary of State announced candidate lists were complete. The state Democratic Party submitted three candidate names: Joseph R. Biden Jr., Dean Phillips, and Marianne Williamson. The Washington State Republican Party submitted five candidate names for the Presidential Primary: Donald J. Trump, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Chris Christie.

While some candidates have dropped out of the race, their names will still appear on the printed ballots.

In the November General Election, you do not need to declare a party and you can choose any candidate. Washington has 12 Electoral College votes, the 13th most of any state.

A look at Trump's Primary night

Fifty-nine delegates were at stake in Georgia, a state where Trump is facing criminal charges for election interference for his actions during the 2020 election.

In that state, he won 49 delegates and walked away with 40 in Mississippi.

It was 30 delegates from Washington that secured Trump the Republican party's nomination. He needed 1,215 to secure the nomination. He ended the night with 43 delegates from WA and 1,228 total.

Hawaii's polls are the last to be counted, with polls closing 11 p.m. PT. FOX 13 will post those results on Wednesday.

As of 8 p.m., Trump ended the night with 1,228 total delegates and Haley walked away with 94. Although she suspended her campaign, she was still on the ballot.

Several states have tried to get Trump off their ballots, citing the Insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, however, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled to keep him on the ballots in those states.