Haley scores first win in D.C. primary, but Trump still dominates GOP race
Ambassador to the United Nations, won her first victory in the Republican presidential nomination race on Sunday, beating Donald Trump and other rivals in the Washington, D.C. primary. However, the win is unlikely to change the overall dynamics of the race, as Trump remains the overwhelming frontrunner with a string of wins in other states.
Haley received 62.8% of the vote in the D.C. primary, according to the D.C. Republican Party, which announced the results on Sunday night. Trump came in second with 23.6%, followed by Texas businessman Ryan Binkley with 7.2%, and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie with 6.4%. The primary awarded 19 delegates to the Republican National Convention, which will be held in July in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Haley’s win in the nation’s capital was expected, as she had campaigned there ahead of the primary, holding a rally at the Madison Hotel on Friday. She also appealed to the more moderate and establishment-oriented Republican voters in D.C., who tend to favor her over Trump’s populist and divisive style. In contrast, Trump did not campaign in D.C., and had performed poorly there in the 2016 primary, losing to Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.
The D.C. primary was also held earlier than usual, as the D.C. GOP said it was the “earliest possible time under party rules.” A June primary, when the Democrats will hold their own contest, would have violated the national GOP’s rules, which require primaries to be held at least 45 days before the convention. This means that the D.C. primary was the only one held in March, ahead of the Super Tuesday contests on April 1, when 16 states will vote.
Haley’s win in D.C. may give her a morale boost, but it will not alter the fact that she is trailing far behind Trump in the delegate count and the national polls. Trump has won every other state that has voted so far, including Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, Missouri, Michigan, and Idaho. He has also amassed 1,024 delegates, more than half of the 1,991 needed to clinch the nomination. Haley has only 113 delegates, and has not won any state polls.
Haley has vowed to stay in the race until the end, saying that she is the only candidate who can defeat President Joe Biden in the general election. She has also positioned herself as a younger and more diverse alternative to Trump, who is 78 years old and faces multiple legal and financial challenges. However, Haley has also faced criticism from some Republicans for her past support of Trump, and from others for her recent attacks on him.
Trump, meanwhile, has shown no signs of slowing down his campaign, despite facing impeachment for a second time and being banned from several social media platforms. He has continued to rally his loyal base with his signature rallies, where he repeats his false claims of election fraud and attacks his opponents. He has also endorsed several Republican candidates who support him, and threatened to challenge those who oppose him.
The next major test for both Haley and Trump will be the Super Tuesday primaries, where more than a third of the total delegates will be up for grabs. The states that will vote include California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. Trump is expected to win most of them, but Haley may hope to score some delegates in states where the allocation is proportional, or where she has some regional appeal. The race for the Republican nomination is far from over, but Trump still has a clear advantage over Haley and the rest of the field.
Keywords: Nikki Haley, Donald Trump, Washington D.C., Republican primary, 2024 election
Tags: #Haley2024, #Trump2024, #DCPrimary, #GOP
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