Donald Trump waves before he speaks during a campaign rally Feb. 10, 2016, in Clemson, South Carolina. | Getty Images Trump gains an edge in Northern Marianas Jason Osborne, executive director of the Northern Mariana Islands GOP, confirmed the news.

Ralph Torres, the governor of the Northern Mariana Islands, has thrown his support behind Donald Trump, a top party official confirmed Friday, saying the endorsement all but guarantees the mogul will win the territory’s nine delegates next week.

Though the islands’ delegate haul is small, every inch of ground Trump gains makes it more difficult for his rivals to catch him and force a contested convention.


Jason Osborne, executive director of the Northern Mariana Islands GOP, confirmed the news.

Osborne, who recently finished a stint as a communications adviser to Ben Carson, was also just announced as a member of Trump’s delegate selection team. He joins another former Carson hand, Ed Brookover, in working on Trump’s convention strategy. Both are following the trail blazed by former Carson campaign manager Barry Bennett, who began coordinating Trump’s convention strategy in an informal capacity in January.