Worrying detail in Donald Trump Primary election win that will concern campaign team

The Trump campaign may have “reason for concern” after a largely ignored election in one state this week contained a worrying message.

Donald Trump may be set to easily clinch the Republican nominee for the US presidential election but a mostly ignored election this week could indicate he may not be able to clinch the presidency so easily.

On Tuesday evening (US time) the results came in for the primary in Pennsylvania. The election has gone under the radar because Mr Trump and US President Joe Biden have essentially wrapped up the races to be their respective party’s nominees.

Mr Trump easily won the Republican primary. But in a worry for his campaign team, almost 20 per cent of voters opted for a rival candidate. A rival candidate that didn’t campaign and wasn’t even in the race anymore. It’s what's known as a “zombie vote”.

A commentator said it could be a “reason for concern” for Mr Trump.

Donald Trump is currently in the throes of a number of court cases which he has said are hampering him from campaigning. But some indicators have suggested Mr Trump could nonetheless triumph on election day.

Former US President Donald Trump speaks to the press after attending his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs. (Photo by Brendan McDermid / POOL / AFP)

Huge number for ‘zombie’ candidate

Primaries decide who from each party will be the candidate for President. While they acted as a serious contest several months back, where numerous candidates jostled to be the presidential pick, now Mr Trump and Mr Biden are the only candidates standing and will almost certainly be the nominees of their respective parties.

Mr Trump won 83 per cent of the Republican Presidential primary vote in Pennsylvania this week.

However, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley garnered 17 per cent of the vote.

Ms Haley dropped out of the battle to be the Republican nominee in early March following a string of primary defeats to Mr Trump most notably on “Super Tuesday”. But her name was already on the Pennsylvania ballot before she exited stage left.

That meant people could still vote for her despite her having zero chance of being the presidential candidate. Ms Haley was a zombie candidate.

Nikki Haley dropped out of the presidential contest last month and still got near 20 per cent of Pennsylvania’s votes. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

And yet, more than 156,000 Pennsylvanians Republicans voted for a zombie. In some areas, her vote share was around 20 per cent. While in Chester County, which includes half a million people in suburban Philadelphia, one in four opted for Ms Haley.

In the 2020 presidential election, Mr Biden beat Mr Trump by 80,500 voters. If Ms Haley’s 150,000 plus votes remain out of Mr Trump’s reach it could have serious consequences for his chances

The strong showing for Ms Haley appears to demonstrate that significant numbers of voters, particularly more centrist conservatives and so-called “never Trumpers”, are unhappy with Mr Trump’s candidacy.

It’s not just Pennsylvania, other recent primaries have seen substantial minorities picking Ms Haley.

In some areas, include city suburbs, Ms Haley got a significant share of the vote. Picture: NBC.

Despite doing no campaigning, Ms Haley fared better in Pennsylvania then she did in some states when she was still in the race.

In Alabama, for instance, she got only 13 per cent of the vote on Super Tuesday.

Notably, Ms Haley has yet to endorse Mr Trump for president.

In March, another former rival for the Republican ticket – and the Vice President in the Trump administration – Mike Pence said he would not endorse Mr Trump citing “profound differences” on a “range of issues”.

Philadelphia has a string minority for Ms Haley.

‘Cause for concern’

“Ms Haley’s showing may not have significantly impacted Trump taking the state on his way to officially becoming the Republican nominee,” said Jared Ganes reporting for website The Hill.

“But it could indicate a reason for concern in the general election, in which Pennsylvania is one of the key battleground states that could determine the winner of the Oval Office”.

Pennsylvania is a key swing state with significant numbers of blue collar and rural voters as well as suburban and inner city voters in the major cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Pennsylvania also has 19 votes in the US Electoral College, the mechanism by which presidents are decided, the fifth highest in the country.

US President Joe Biden has also had some primary votes here he fare badly. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)

Biden will also have concerns

Mr Biden didn’t have it all his own way in the Pennsylvania primary either.

Dean Phillips, who like Ms Haley had his name on the ballot despite dropping out, took 7 per cent of the Democrat vote.

But Mr Biden’s 93 per cent vote share is higher than Mr Trump’s 83 per cent.

Trump’s campaign can take some solace. It’s not unusual for candidates to get substantial protest votes and still go onto win.

In addition, a number of recent polls have shown him leading his rival.

A Wall Street Journal survey from earlier this month showed Mr Trump ahead of Mr Biden in six of the seven most competitive states. That included Pennsylvania, where Mr Trump was three basis points ahead of Mr Biden.

In addition, Mr Biden has had some primaries where his vote was far less than expected.

In the Minnesota primary, when Mr Phillips was still in the race, Mr Biden’s vote fell to just 70 per cent. Mr Phillips took 8 per cent of those votes but almost 19 per cent when to “uncommitted,” which a voter can tick if they prefer neither candidate.

That was thought to be a protest vote against the US Government’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza which has now led to tens of thousands of deaths.

If those protest votes against Mr Biden in the primary turn into Democrats refusing to turn up to vote in November, Mr Trump may win even without the never Trumpers.

Originally published as Worrying detail in Donald Trump Primary election win that will concern campaign team