Former US President Donald Trump won the New Hampshire primary, dealing a major blow to his only remaining rival Nikki Haley and solidifying status as the Republican Party’s likely nominee. An American media agency called the contest for Trump at 8PM on January 23, 2024. He was leading Haley by about 7.2 percentage points with about 19 percent of the vote counted. This is the second consecutive time that the American media agency has made a quick call in the favor of Republican frontrunner.
Trump’s New Hampshire victory comes after a decisive victory at Iowa and delivers a setback to Haley ahead of the February 2024 primary in her home state of South Carolina. Trump currently leads Haley by about 30 points according to a polling average organization. As per Taylor Budowich, the CEO of the Make America Great Again Incorporation, the Super political action committee supporting Trump said, “It is time for unity and its time to take the fight to the Democrats and for Nikki Haley it is time to drop out.”
Trump’s Victory over Rivals
The polls ahead of the primary showed Trump consistently ahead of Haley by double digits and he was boosted in the days before the vote by the endorsement of three major rivals, US Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Florida governor Ron de Santis. De Santis entered the race as seen as Trumps tough challenger, but finished a distant second to him in Iowa and dropped out of New Hampshire much before.
Haley’s Defeat
Haley focused her campaign in the Granite State where she banked on the centrist message playing well with states electorate and had the backing of its popular governor Chirs Sununu. She also had the support of Americans for Prosperity, the super political action committee to Chales Koch who spent millions on advertising her and turned out the vote effects for her.
Haley’s loss raises questions about how she can remain in the race even as her allies insists that she could continue without a victory there. Haley faced pressure from donors to deliver a strong showing in New Hampshire ahead of the vote. Scores of voters came out to vote creating long lines at some polling places. The number has the potential to break the 322,000 predicted by the New Hampshire Secretary for the State which will be a record for a Republican Presidential primary.
