Donald Trump on Wednesday easily won the Washington State primary and was tantalisingly close to clinching the Republican presidential nomination to set up a likely clash with Democratic party front-runner Hillary Clinton in the November polls.
Trump’s victory, however, was overshadowed by the clashes between anti-Trump protesters and police outside his event in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Washington also held a Democratic primary which was won by Clinton but its result is meaningless as Democrats decided to allocate their delegates in the March 26 caucuses, where Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won all 39 counties.
Trump’s win in Washington state where Trump received 76.2 per cent of the total votes polled has brought him close to clinching the nomination.
Republicans in Washington were to allocate 44 delegates to the national convention in Cleveland based on the primary results.
Trump had secured at least 27 delegates, leaving him 41 short of the number needed to clinch the nomination.
In the primary, Trump garnered over 76 per cent of the vote as Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich each earned 10 per cent of the vote, while retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson earned 4 per cent of the vote.