Haley won six delegates in Va. before suspending her campaign. What happens to them?

It's like déjà vu all over again as the nation braces for a rematch at the polls this November, with President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump poised to claim their party’s nominations this summer.

Both candidates secured the required number of delegates through state primary contests in mid-March, confirming their status as the presumptive nominees for their respective parties at the upcoming conventions. The Republican National Convention will be held in Milwaukee, while the Democratic National Convention will take place in Chicago this summer.

In Virginia, Biden won the full share of the 99 delegates up for grabs on Super Tuesday. Trump won 42 of Virginia’s 48 delegates, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley won the remaining six.

With the party’s nominees all but determined and Haley suspending her campaign on March 6, what happens to the six delegates allotted to her?

What will Haley’s delegates do at the convention?

Chris Marston, who serves as the general counsel for the Republican Party of Virginia, confirmed that according to the Republican Party's rules, the Secretary of the RNC is required to record six delegate votes for Haley—even if the delegates try to vote differently.

“It's our version of preventing ‘faithless electors’, he said. A “faithless elector” refers to a member of the electoral college or, in this case, a delegate who fails to vote for a candidate for whom they had pledged to vote.

How were Virginia’s Republican delegates selected?

Each campaign submits a list of delegates in December. The chosen individuals will be the delegates, unless they decline, in which case they will be replaced.

Marston explained they are working on determining the delegates and expect to finalize by mid-April.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: What will Haley's six Virginia delegates do?