Donald Trump wins New Hampshire primary
January 24, 2024
Former US President Donald Trump won the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, strengthening his bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, according to projections by the Associated Press and Fox News.
After a landslide victory in the Iowa caucuses, Trump was down to one serious rival, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.
According to the projections, Haley outperformed expectations but was unable to clinch an important victory.
At his victory party, Trump mocked his last remaining rival, calling her an "imposter" and saying, "She's doing a speech like she won. She didn't win. She lost ... She had a very bad night."
What were the results of the primary?
With 91% of the votes counted, Trump had 54.5%, beating out Haley, who trailed with 43.2% of the vote, according to AP estimates.
Trump will win at least 12 New Hampshire delegates to Haley's 9, with 1 still up for grabs, according to Edison Research's initial projection.
Reports during the day suggested that voter turnout had been high.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden won New Hampshire's largely symbolic Democratic primary, prevailing in an unusual write-in effort after choosing not to campaign or appear on the state's ballot.
Biden's reelection campaign said Trump's primary victory in New Hampshire means he will almost certainly become the Republican Party's nominee in 2024 and face Biden on election day.
"Tonight's results confirm Donald Trump has all but locked up the GOP nomination, and the election denying, anti-freedom MAGA movement has completed its takeover of the Republican Party," Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement.
The nomination battle will turn next to Nevada, where Trump holds a strong lead. The two candidates, however, are competing in different races: Haley in the state's primary on February 6 and Trump in a caucus, where the state's delegates will be awarded, two days later. After that, candidates will attempt to woo voters in Haley's home state of South Carolina — where Trump is ahead of the former governor by some 30 percentage points.
The exit polls from New Hampshire suggest that Trump is likely to expand beyond his base.
The nomination process will continue for months but it is likely that the Republicans may have a presidential candidate by April.
Haley vowed to continue race
In response to Trump's projected victory, Haley congratulated her rival and vowed to fight on, "This race is far from over."
"The worst kept secret in politics is how badly the Democrats want to run against Donald Trump," she told supporters after Trump was projected to win. "A Trump nomination is a Biden win."
Before the vote on Tuesday, Haley's team said she intends to stay in the race through "Super Tuesday" on March 5, when voters in 16 states will cast ballots for their party's candidate.
"After Super Tuesday," read a campaign memo, "we will have a very good picture of where this race stands. At that point, millions of Americans in 26 states and territories will have voted."
dh/ab (AP, AFP, Reuters)