The leader of the state Republican Party congratulated Donald Trump on his victory in Tuesday’s primary and said his presence atop the ticket will help other Republicans win in Washington.
Susan Hutchison, the state party chairwoman, said the results demonstrate GOP voters are getting behind Trump as the presidential nominee and he “has it within his power” to win the votes needed to capture Washington this fall. No Republican presidential candidate has done that since Ronald Reagan.
“Donald Trump is committed to flipping Washington state. He told me so personally,” Hutchison said Tuesday night. “I believe Donald Trump can win this state and when he wins this state it will affect races down the ballot.”
Hutchison plans to meet with Trump in California Wednesday.
“It will be great fun to congratulate him in person,” she said.
Trump continued his march toward the Republican presidential nomination by capturing 76.1 percent of the votes tallied Tuesday night. The vote totals will be updated statewide Wednesday afternoon.
Trump will win all of the 44 Republican delegates at stake in the election. His vanquished foes, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, each garnered around 10 percent of the votes which is too few to qualify for any delegates on under party rules.
Meanwhile, Jaxon Ravens, the state Democratic Party chairman, said in a statement Tuesday that a Trump presidency “will deeply harm America’s middle-class families and his disgusting comments about Muslims, Hispanics and women have already divided the country. Democrats, independents, and even a healthy amount of Republicans will come together this November to reject Donald Trump and his Washington Republican allies like Bill Bryant.”
When asked how the Republican Party plans to respond to such attacks, Hutchison said: “My rebuttal is Hillary Clinton. She is so roundly disliked by so many. I definitely believe there are going to be a lot of demoralized voters in this state that will not vote for Hillary.”
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