Make way for Donald Trump: As of Thursday, the billionaire businessman made the transition from presumptive nominee to the official nominee for the Republican Party.
Trump now has the support of 1,238 delegates, a small amount higher than the 1,237 needed to secure the presidential nomination, according to reports from the Associated Press.
The Republican frontrunner reached that number Thursday after 29 unbound GOP delegates told the AP they would support Trump at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
"Here I am watching Hillary fight, and she can't close the deal," he told reporters Thursday. "We've had tremendous support from almost everybody."
Fifteen of the unpledged delegates came from North Dakota, seven came from Pennsylvania, two came from both West Virginia and Nevada and one each from Colorado, New Hampshire and Oklahoma.
The majority of Republican delegates are bound to vote for the candidate chosen by their party during primary elections. Florida, for example, has 99 presidential delegates, all of whom will pledge for Trump at the RNC due to the state’s “winner take all” delegate style.
Other delegates are considered “unbound” because they are not required to pledge themselves in a similar fashion.
The official delegate count will not occur until the RNC meeting in July.
Trump has been the last man standing since the beginning of the month in the Republican presidential primary. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich both dropped out earlier this month, leaving the path wide open for Trump to clinch the nomination.
It’s been a long road for Trump and for the Republican Party. For months, the field was crowded, full of candidates who each desperately wanted to represent the party at the polls in November. Two Republicans in the race, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, both represented politicians from the Sunshine State.
Despite Trump clinching the party nomination, five more states still have their presidential primaries June 7, with more than 300 delegates at stake.
Those delegates are likely to go to Trump.
A contested convention now becomes incredibly less likely now that the delegates have pledged their support to Trump and pushed him over the necessary threshold to snag the Republican presidential nomination.
Trump’s road to victory has been one of the most widely publicized -- and at times, most controversial -- races the country has ever seen. Some Republicans have been hesitant to support Trump as the party’s nominee, even in Florida where Trump maintains part-time residence.
The #NeverTrump movement has seen some momentum in certain parts of the party. Earlier this month, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said he simply couldn’t support Trump at the polls this November on account of personal, character-based issues.
“Donald Trump has not demonstrated that temperament or strength of character,” Bush wrote on his Facebook page. “He has not displayed a respect for the Constitution. And, he is not a consistent conservative. These are all reasons why I cannot support his candidacy.”
Other Republican politicians from the Sunshine State have also said they won’t be voting for Trump in November, but the state’s Republican Party seemed upbeat about Trump’s candidacy at its spring quarterly meeting this month. Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi have both endorsed Trump.
Many of the RPOF members wore Trump hats and said they were excited about the prospect of voting for him later this year.
“Electing a president is never easy, but our party is strong, focused, and ready,” said RPOF chair Blaise Ingoglia in a statement. “We have made incredible gains in the past year that outpace the Florida Democrats’ best efforts, and I know every single member of our party is prepared to keep up the hard work to ensure we are successful in November.”
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
