Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has won the Republican primary in the District of Columbia (Washington DC), notching her first victory of the 2024 campaign as she struggles to remain relevant in her underdog race against Donald Trump.
Haley’s symbolic victory in the nation’s capital comes just ahead of a decisive day in the long US nominating process — Super Tuesday, in which 15 states and one territory vote.
The victory holds significance as Washington is a solidly Democratic town with a small number of registered Republicans. CNN, which was among the outlets reporting that Haley won on Sunday, put it at just 22,000.
The Haley campaign put out a statement saying “It’s not surprising that Republicans closest to Washington dysfunction are rejecting Donald Trump and all his chaos,” AFP reported.
Also Read: US Elections 2024: Nikki Haley wins Washington, D.C., Republican primary, in small symbolic boost
Trump’s campaign in turn released what it called a “statement on Nikki Haley Being Crowned Queen of The Swamp.” “Tonight’s results in Washington DC reaffirm the object of President Trump’s campaign — he will drain the swamp and put America first,” the statement said.
The Super Tuesday milestone is expected to leave Trump a hair’s breadth from securing the Republican Party’s presidential nomination. He has already swept all the early state primaries.
Nikki Haley’s defeats
Sunday’s win marks Nikki Haley’s first state primary victory. She was defeated by Donald Trump in all the earlier primaries.
Most recently, former US president Donald Trump won Michigan’s Republican primary, with Haley losing yet another 2024 contest. Trump’s victory comes after Haley lost in her home state, South Carolina. However, she vowed to continue the fight.
Before that, Trump beat Haley in Iowa and New Hampshire, and in Nevada too, where Haley did not appear on the ballot. She was also beaten by Trump in the US Virgin Islands, before being defeated in South Carolina.
Before the Michigan winner was announced, Haley went on to defend her decision to stay in the race. “We’ve only seen a handful of states vote. I mean, look, I’ve said this before as much as the media wants to jump ahead, we’re taking this one state, one day at a time,” she told CNN.
Despite her early losses, Haley has said she would remain in the race at least through those contests, although she declined to name any primary she felt confident she would win.