Donald Trump triumphed in New Hampshire’s Republican presidential primary on Tuesday, which brought him closer to a rematch with Joe Biden in November.
However, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley vowed to keep fighting.
This race is far from over. I’m a fighter. And I’m scrappy. And now we’re the last one standing next to Donald Trump.
With 57 per cent of expected votes counted, Trump had a solid lead with 54.4 per cent to 43.6 per cent, according to Edison Research.
Haley expected that the large group of independent voters in the northeastern state would ensure her victory by weakening Trump’s hold on the Republican Party. However, he instead became the first Republican to win competitive votes in both Iowa, where he prevailed with a record lead eight days ago, and New Hampshire.
The next contest is scheduled for February 24 in South Carolina, where Haley was born and served two terms as governor. Opinion polls, however, indicate Trump has a big lead among the state’s voters.
Tuesday’s vote was the first one-on-one confrontation between Trump and Haley since Florida Governor Ron DeSantis withdrew from the race on Sunday and endorsed Trump. While DeSantis had only marginal support in New Hampshire, according to polls, his voters were far more likely to side with Trump rather than Haley.
However, despite Trump’s victory on Tuesday, exit polls hinted at his potential vulnerability on the campaign trail. He faces 91 criminal charges for a range of wrongdoing, including attempting to undo his defeat in 2020 and retaining classified documents after leaving the White House in 2021. The defendant denies any wrongdoing and claims to be a victim of political persecution.
According to an exit poll by Edison, about 42 per cent of voters in the Republican primary stated that Trump could not hold the presidency if he was found guilty in a trial.
Biden also faces troubling signs as three-quarters of Republican primary voters stated that the economy was either bad or not very good, while Biden struggled to emphasise his administration’s achievements in that regard.
Biden declined to participate in the Democratic primary in New Hampshire, supporting his party’s attempt to move its first primary election to the more diverse state of South Carolina. However, New Hampshire supporters were still able to vote for Biden by putting his name on the ballot.
According to Edison, with 29% of the estimated votes counted, Biden had 67.7%, well ahead of Phillips with 19.4%. The president later stated:
“It is now clear that Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee. And my message to the country is the stakes could not be higher. Our democracy. Our personal freedoms — from the right to choose to the right to vote. Our economy — which has seen the strongest recovery in the world since COVID.”
As the election approaches, Haley has stepped up her attacks on Trump, criticising his ties to powerful people such as North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Haley, 52, has also criticised Trump’s age (77) and mental acuity. In her speech on Tuesday, Haley warned that Trump would again lose to Biden if nominated.
The worst-kept secret in politics is how badly the Democrats want to run against Donald Trump. They know Trump is the only Republican in the country who Joe Biden can defeat.
