Trump beats Haley in New Hampshire, moves closer to White House nomination
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MANCHESTER, New Hampshire - Donald Trump cruised to victory in New Hampshire’s Republican presidential contest on Jan 23.
It brings him closer to a November rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden even as his only remaining rival, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, vowed to soldier on.
“This race is far from over,” she told her supporters at a primary night party in Concord, challenging Trump to debate her. “I’m a fighter. And I’m scrappy. And now we’re the last one standing next to Donald Trump.”
At his own party in Nashua, Trump opened his speech by mocking Mrs Haley, calling her an “imposter” and saying, “She’s doing, like, a speech like she won. She didn’t win. She lost. ... She had a very bad night.”
His remarks followed a series of angry posts on his Truth Social app, calling her “DELUSIONAL.”
With at least 75 per cent of the expected vote tallied, according to Edison, Trump held a comfortable 54.2 per cent to 43.7 per cent for Mrs Haley.
Mrs Haley had hoped the north-eastern state’s sizeable cadre of independent voters would carry her to an upset win that might loosen Trump’s iron grip on the Republican Party
Trump became the first Republican to sweep competitive votes in both Iowa – where he won by a record-setting margin eight days ago
While the final margin was still unclear, the results will likely increase calls from some Republicans for Mrs Haley to drop out of the race.
Her campaign vowed in a memo on Jan 23 to push forward until “Super Tuesday” in early March, when Republicans in 15 states and one territory vote on the same day.
The next contest is scheduled for Feb 24 in South Carolina, where Mrs Haley was born and served two terms as governor.
Despite her ties, however, Trump has racked up endorsements from most of the state’s Republican figures, and opinion polls show him with a wide lead.
Mrs Haley finished third in Iowa, just behind Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, while focusing much of her early campaign on New Hampshire, where the more moderate electorate was expected to offer perhaps her best chance of winning a state over Trump.
New Hampshire was the first contest to feature a one-on-one match-up between Trump and Mrs Haley, after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, once seen as Trump’s most formidable challenger, dropped out
Supporters of former US president Donald Trump waiting together ahead of his visit to the Londonderry High School polling station in New Hampshire on Jan 23.
PHOTO: AFP
Despite Trump’s projected win on Jan 23, however, exit polls hinted at his potential vulnerabilities in a general election campaign.
He faces four sets of criminal charges for a range of offences, including his efforts to overturn his 2020 defeat and his retention of classified documents after leaving the White House in 2021.
Biden not on ballot
Meanwhile, Edison projected Mr Biden won the New Hampshire Democratic primary, brushing aside his challenger, US Representative Dean Phillips.
Mr Biden was not on the ballot in the Democratic primary, having supported an effort by his party to move their first primary election to the more diverse state of South Carolina.
New Hampshire supporters were still able to vote for him by writing Mr Biden’s name on the ballot, which could be a barometer of his political strength.
The Democratic president, whose advisers had anticipated a rematch with Trump, took aim at Republicans over their efforts curb abortion rights in a Virginia speech on Jan 23.
But his remarks were interrupted repeatedly by hecklers protesting against his policies towards Israel.
The US Supreme Court, with a conservative majority made possible by three justices who joined the court under Trump, eliminated a nationwide right to abortion in 2022, galvanising Democratic voters in that year’s congressional elections.
Mr Biden also has cast Trump as a would-be dictator and a threat to democracy. REUTERS
