Territory, Trump Both Triumph in Virgin Islands GOP Caucus
FRENCHMAN’S REEF, St. Thomas — Former President Donald Trump garnered another commanding win Thursday night, handily winning arguably the most festive event to date of the 2024 election season — the Virgin Islands Republican caucuses.
That the vote was pulled off at all just over three years after hurricanes Irma and Maria caused billions of dollars in damage to the islands, and neighboring Puerto Rico, in 2017, would have been reason to celebrate in and of itself.
That the results were read at an election night party held at the new, world class Morningstar Buoy House Beach Resort at Frenchman’s Reef was nothing short of a miracle to many of the attendees.
“The Virgin Islands are back,” declared Gordon Ackley, the territory’s Republican party chairman after announcing Trump had received 73.98% of the vote and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley 26.02%.
“Your vote today and our attendance here is proof of all the hard work we’ve done over the past two years,” he said.
Ackley also noted that the event marked a new day for the GOP on the Virgin Islands, calling its revamped local committee “a new party coming forward to challenge the Democrats” after what has effectively been 30 years of one-party rule in the territory.
“Today’s caucus was truly an unprecedented moment … because of the timing of our caucus, going third in the nation, we had a unique opportunity to elevate the causes of the territories, the Virgin Islands included,” he continued.
“And we’ve received a lot of positive national attention. The kind of attention money can’t buy. And I’m sure after seeing us in such a positive spotlight, people will be visiting us again in large numbers,” he said.
Ackley also stressed that how the caucus was handled played a large role in how the contest was perceived by outsiders and the media.
Uniquely, the Virgin Islands GOP opted for ranked-choice voting at voting precincts established at the La Reine Chicken Shack on St. Croix, Bluebeard’s Castle on St. Thomas and the Lovano Rum Bar in Cruz Bay.
“Our goal was to provide a level playing field for all of the candidates,” Ackley said. “Among the benefits of ranked-choice voting is that it is sort of like an instant runoff [election].
“It’s a voting system that ensures there’s no such thing as a wasted vote or a spoiler candidate, and in the end, it ensures the winner is supported by the majority of voters,” he said.
Also on the ballot Thursday were Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, businessmen Vivek Ramaswamy and Perry Johnson, all of whom have suspended their campaigns.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum also qualified to appear on the ballot, but later withdrew their names after ending their campaigns.
Haley, Trump and DeSantis all actively competed in the Virgin Islands ahead of the caucuses.
DeSantis, who was the first to file and qualify for the ballot, stumped on St. Thomas in October. He also sent Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo to December events on St. Croix and St. Thomas.
Haley sent a senior staffer to the islands, gave a TV interview to the CBS affiliate, ran full-page ads in The Virgin Islands Daily News, and stumped twice in the islands, including Monday on St. Croix when she committed to full equality for the five U.S. territories and a conversation on voting rights.
While the Virgin Islands fully and equally participate in the Republican nomination phase of the presidential campaign, the territory doesn’t get votes in the general election.
Meanwhile, Trump dispatched Reps. Byron Donalds, R-Fla. and Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, to headline events hosted by the Republican Party in the Virgin Islands.
The former president also had Dr. Ben Carson, a cabinet secretary in his first term, address a November meeting of the Republican State Committee that also featured DeSantis surrogate Ken Cuccinelli and Rick Wiley, a senior adviser to Haley.
On Thursday, Reps. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., traveled to St. John and St. Thomas to stump for the former president before attending the election night party.
“We saw some incredible things today, including first-time voters coming in and former Democrats coming in, and I think that goes to show two things — how effectively President Trump has reached people with his messaging and how concerned people are about the path our country has gone down,” Luna said.
The congresswoman went on to say that she felt “honored and privileged” to represent the Trump campaign on such an auspicious day for the Islands.
Bergman said he felt a similar sense of pride and applauded the caucus voters for participating.
“Ninety-five percent of life is just showing up, and you all showed up,” he said. “You are making a difference, and one that extends far beyond the Virgin Islands because whether you are inside the boundaries of the states, or in the territories, we are all together in this. And if you don’t show up and don’t step up … that does not get recognized.”
On that note, the Virgin Islands GOP awarded Fred Vialet Jr., a former vice chairman of the local party and state committeeman, its Frederick Douglass award for a lifetime of service to the Republican party.
The Virgin Islands will send nine delegates and six alternate delegates to the 2024 Republican National Convention this summer. Those delegates were expected to be elected by the Virgin Islands GOP delegate selection committee on Friday.
“The Virgin Islands will decide the trajectory of the Republican nomination,” an exuberant Ackley said Thursday night.
In a more serious vein, he said he hoped the caucus is the first decisive step in fulfilling a long time goal of Virgin Islands residents.
“What we want is to be equal [to the states] and I don’t think being equal is asking too much,” he said. “Our islands have never received this much attention from either political party … so I really believe if we continue as we have been of late, our issues will be at the forefront like never before.”
Dan can be reached at [email protected] and at https://twitter.com/DanMcCue
