Former President Donald Trump made history with a significant victory in the New Hampshire Republican primary on Tuesday, surpassing former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. This accomplishment distinguishes Trump as the only non-incumbent Republican to secure wins in both Iowa and New Hampshire, according to multiple analyses.
This achievement surpasses the nearly successful attempt by former presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2012, who won New Hampshire but lost Iowa by a considerable margin.
As of Wednesday morning, Trump had secured approximately 54.5 percent of the GOP primary votes in New Hampshire, while Haley received around 43.3 percent. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who exited the race on Sunday and endorsed Trump, received approximately 2,100 votes.
President Trump’s victory marked him as the second non-incumbent Republican in modern history to secure a majority of GOP primary votes in the Granite State, following then-candidate Ronald Reagan in 1980.
Additionally, the former president achieved the largest share of the state’s primary vote, surpassing Reagan’s 50.2 percent in 1980. While the final margin remained unclear on Wednesday, Trump’s win heightened Republican calls for Haley to withdraw from the race and throw her support behind Trump. Despite the mounting pressure, Haley reiterated her commitment to persist in the race in a speech before the primary.
Despite increasing pressure and calls for her to exit the 2024 race, Nikki Haley’s campaign remains resolute, as outlined in a memo released earlier on Tuesday. The campaign has pledged to move forward, with a focus on Super Tuesday on March 5, when Republicans in 15 states and one territory cast their votes in the primary.
The upcoming competitive contest is scheduled for Feb. 24 in South Carolina, where Haley served two terms as governor. However, despite her local connections, President Trump has secured endorsements from a majority of the state’s Republican figures, and polls indicate a substantial lead for him.
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, who had refrained from publicly urging candidates to withdraw from the race, joined the voices calling for Haley’s departure. McDaniel emphasized the need for party unity around President Trump for the 2024 general election in her statement on Wednesday.
“Donald Trump is the first ever to win both [the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary]. I’m looking at the math and the path going forward, and I don’t see it for Nikki Haley,” Ms. McDaniel said during a Fox News interview.
With the results in New Hampshire, “there is a message that’s coming out from the voters, which is very clear,” she added. “We need to unite around our eventual nominee, which is going to be Donald Trump, and we need to make sure we beat [President] Joe Biden.”
As demands for Nikki Haley to withdraw from the 2024 race intensify, one of her advocates, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, voiced disagreement with these calls on Wednesday. Governor Sununu, who had endorsed Haley several months ago, continues to stand by her candidacy.
Despite mounting pressure, Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under the Trump administration, persists in her campaign with the support of influential figures like Governor Sununu.
“With all due respect to Ronna McDaniel, to say that we’re just going to call it after two states … 40 states to go, the head of the Republican Party saying we don’t want to hear from all the other Republicans in the nation because it’s getting too close, that’s nonsense. You got to let the voters decide, not a bunch of political elites out of D.C.,” Mr. Sununu, a Republican, also told Fox News.
During an address to a crowd on Tuesday evening, Nikki Haley emphatically asserted her commitment to remain in the presidential race, dispelling speculations that she might contemplate terminating her campaign. Despite analysts’ predictions suggesting she might perform better against President Trump in New Hampshire, considering the state’s substantial independent voter population, Haley remains resolute in her quest for the GOP nomination.
“This race is far from over,” she said in Concord, New Hampshire. “There are dozens of states left to go and the next one is my sweet state of South Carolina.”
Following his victory, President Donald Trump referred to Ms. Haley as a “fraud” on Tuesday.
“I don’t get too angry. I get even,” he added. In a Truth Social post, he wrote that she’s “delusional” and “just lost Nevada,” which will hold its primary soon.
“She is not going to win, but if she did she would be under investigation … I could tell you five reasons why already, not big reasons, little stuff that she doesn’t want to talk about,” President Trump said.
