Donald Trump is a step closer to an election rematch against U.S President Joe Biden, as he secured a decisive victory in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary on Tuesday, January 23, 2024.
Within minutes of the state’s polling stations closing, U.S media announced that Trump had beaten his Republican rival, Nikki Haley by a substantial margin, dealing a powerful blow to her campaign.
The final results have not yet been announced, nonetheless, projections showed Trump with a double-digit lead with about half of the votes counted.
Trump’s resounding victory follows a similar one in the Iowa caucuses last week, cementing his lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination ahead of November’s general election.
The result in New Hampshire suggests Trump will become his party’s presidential candidate for the third election in a row,
Despite her disappointing performance in New Hampshire, Haley insisted that she would continue on to her home state of South Carolina, which will hold its Republican primary next month.
As she spoke to supporters in Concord on Tuesday, Haley congratulated Trump on his victory in the first primary state, but emphasized the importance of upcoming races.
“New Hampshire is first in the nation. It is not the last in the nation. This race is far from over. There are dozens of states left to go, and the next one is my sweet state of South Carolina.”
“Today, we got close to half of the vote. We still have a ways to go, but we keep moving up.”
Nikki Haley
Though she readily acknowledged her defeat in the New Hampshire primary, she also took aim at Trump’s fitness for office and his chances against Biden.
“With Donald Trump, Republicans have lost almost every competitive election,” she said. “The worst kept secret in politics is how badly the Democrats want to run against Donald Trump.”
Trump, on the other hand, derided Haley’s efforts to downplay her loss in New Hampshire, telling his supporters, “Let’s not have somebody take a victory when she had a very bad night.”
After Trump’s wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, more and more Republican lawmakers are lining up to endorse him.
Speaking at Trump’s victory party on Tuesday, former presidential candidate, Tim Scott, who dropped out of the primary race in November and endorsed the former President last week, called on Republicans to unite.
“It is time for the Republican party to coalesce around our nominee and the next President of United States: Donald Trump. Let’s get that party started tonight,” Scott said.
Democrats Dismiss Haley’s Prospects As Republican Contender In Election
Despite Haley’s claims to the contrary, Democrats also clearly believe the Republican presidential primary is effectively over, and they are already turning their attention to the general election.
Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden’s campaign manager stated, “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.”
She added, “While we work toward November 2024, one thing is increasingly clear today: Donald Trump is headed straight into a general election matchup where he’ll face the only person to have ever beaten him at the ballot box: Joe Biden.”
While most of the attention was focused on Tuesday’s Republican primary results, President Biden also secured a resounding victory in his party’s primary race, despite not appearing on the ballot.
Biden did not participate in the New Hampshire contest due to a scheduling spat between state Democrats and the Democratic National Committee, but his supporters launched a successful campaign to urge voters to write the President’s name on the ballot anyway.
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