Cleveland — Donald Trump, the real-estate mogul and political neophyte who rode a populist wave to defeat 16 Republican challengers — and win more votes than any primary candidate in the history of the GOP — officially clinched the party’s nomination for president Tuesday evening.
On the convention floor here inside Quicken Loans Arena, the roll-call vote was largely uneventful as the state delegations, in alphabetical sequence, stood one by one to announce their delegate-allocation totals. By the time the roll call reached Pennsylvania, Trump stood at 1,178 delegates — 59 shy of the 1,237 needed to secure the nomination.
At that point, the Pennsylvania spokesman announced his delegation would defer to New York, which had previously “passed” on casting its votes in order to preserve the ceremonial privilege of putting its native son over the top. Cheers went up inside the arena as the New York delegates stood. After a brief introduction, Trump’s son, Donald, Jr., announced that the delegation would be casting 89 of its votes for his father, formally sealing the nomination.
This was the scene inside Quicken Loans Arena as the convention secretary announced the tally of New York’s votes:
Trump will formally accept the nomination with a speech here Thursday night.