Virgin Islands caucus clamor

For most of us, an island getaway in winter is the perfect vacation. For surrogates of Donald Trump and Nikki Haley, it’s serious business.

The US Virgin Islands’ new caucus system will provide Trump, 77, and Haley, 52, the first opportunity to go headto-head post-New Hampshire primary — meaning the territory is getting more scrutiny than ever in the election process.

Neither Trump nor Haley has visited the Caribbean outpost, and neither is likely to ahead of the Feb. 8 caucus.

However, the islands have been the focus of a frenzy of strategizing and Zoom calls as the rivals fight for the four delegates up for grabs.

The US Virgin Islands election is technically the thirdin-the-nation contest, since it’s four hours ahead of the Nevada Republican caucus.

The Republican National Committee reduced the number of delegates representing the islands from nine to four after the territorial GOP implemented rankedchoice voting — violating RNC rules that caucuses held before March 15 must allocate delegates proportionally to the number of votes each candidate receives.

The Virgin Islands, like other American territories, doesn’t take part in the general election, according to Republican Party in the Virgin Islands Executive Director Dennis Lennox.

“The Virgin Islands has never seen this kind of attention in any previous cycle,” Lennox told The Post.

The early date also encouraged GOP presidential candidates — most of whom are no longer in the race — to pay $20,000 to register for the ballot. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, biotech mogul Vivek Ramaswamy, businessman Perry Johnson and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will all be listed as voting options.