New Hampshire's primary hasn't even finished, but Republican Senate and campaign chairs are already calling Trump the 'presumptive nominee'

• Trump is already being called the "presumptive nominee," despite only one primary having finished.
• Even still, the former president's current lead in primary polling is seeming insurmountable.

The Iowa Caucuses in mid-January marked the beginning of the primary season for the Republican Party. And while it's the only event that's even been completed thus far, party officials have already dubbed former President Donald Trump as the "presumptive nominee."

Rep. Richard Hudson, the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, and Sen. Steve Daines, chair of the National Congressional Senate Committee, both made the comments after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he was dropping out of the primary race.

"Donald Trump is the presumptive nominee," Daines said. "I am encouraging every Republican to unite behind him because it will take all of us to defeat Joe Biden, take back the Senate, and hold the House."

"Iowa sent a strong signal that Republican voters want the party to unify behind Donald Trump," Hudson similarly posted hours after Daines. "He is the presumptive nominee. It is time to come together, kick Joe Biden out of office, and get our country back on track."

Sahil Kapur, a reporter with NBC News, was the first to point out both chairs' identical verbiage.

There's still several months of scheduled primary races that Trump has to win before officially winning the GOP nomination in July. Nevertheless, as Trump's already amassed endorsements from much of the GOP congressional caucus (including the speaker of the House) and maintains a massive lead over Haley in national and statewide polls, it'll be very difficult for her to best her former boss.

Her best bet to becoming the Republican nominee may be to simply remain in the primary race and rack up as many delegates as she can to present herself as the best possible replacement for Trump in the event he drops out of the race amidst his many legal battles.