Pundits’ mouths dropped in February when Donald Trump took the New Hampshire primary by force, beating the second highest candidate by more than 20 percentage points in a 17-person race. The media ran stock lines like FOX News’s “Is this the beginning of the end for Trump’s campaign?” every time Ted Cruz would win or come close in a state primary, yet Trump continued to rise in the polls.

Though the conservative elite, including Jeb Bush and Cruz, berated Trump and pronounced him a “clown” and a “buffoon,” he defeated Bush and Cruz in their home state of Florida by tremendous numbers. Trump shattered the previous record for Republican primary votes for a single candidate, an astounding feat with so many candidates in the race.

Trump started early to attack Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front runner, while she was still fighting off a 74-year-old socialist. Trump has the momentum, the resources, and the will to become the 45th president of the United States of America.

To understand Trump’s rise, one must understand his competition along the way. From the start, Jeb Bush was pegged as the presumed GOP nominee, since both his father and brother were presidents and he had tremendous monetary support in the form of super PACs. The Donald almost completely self-funded his campaign, so he was able to run on the platform of being above the influence of special interest groups. Bush, meanwhile, spent more than $150 million before ending his campaign in late February, after many disappointing losses, including Iowa, where he spent $2,884 per vote to lose, and even more in states that followed.

Trump won the Florida primary by speaking out strongly against illegal immigration, which the state is affected greatly by, beating former governor Bush, and current Senator Marco Rubio, which caused Rubio to exit the race in a tearful press conference. This left Trump, who had the most delegates, or representative votes, and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, the only other person who could truly contest him by that time.

Yet as the primaries wore on, Cruz’s results began to wane. As he was more in the public eye it became clear that he was a poor public speaker and very weak on domestic policy, while advocating carpet bombing civilian areas in the Middle East. Cruz ended his campaign reluctantly but expectedly.

Finally uncontested in the Republican party, Trump began early attack ads on Hillary Clinton, calling her “Crooked Hillary,” and dubbing her competitor, Bernie Sanders, “Crazy Bernie.” He brought up Clinton’s failure to act in the Benghazi embassy attack of 2012. Meanwhile, Clinton was still “feeling the Bern,” which made her appear weak to undecided voters as she was unable to clinch the nomination before Trump.

While Sanders drew the support of a majority of young voters, Trump gained attention through social media and amassed an immense digital following. He attacked his opposition personally on Twitter, leading the media to label him politically incorrect and offensive. Trump managed to appeal to young people who were tired of with social justice and identity politics dominating the media.

All these factors combine to show a very likely win for Trump. He was popular before the race in his home state of New York, a potential swing state. He has the support of blue collar workers who are fed up with their views being outweighed by corporate money in politics. He has incredible support online across many social media platforms. Lastly, and potentially most importantly, he has the media 24/7. No network can resist going an hour without mentioning his name. With repetition, resources, and now the support of the Republican party, Trump has paved his way victory in November.