January 24, 2024 06:54 am | Updated 06:54 am IST – MANCHESTER, N.H.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks as he makes a visit to a polling station on election day in the New Hampshire presidential primary, in Londonderry, New Hampshire, U.S., on January 23, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Former U.S. president Donald Trump won the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, tightening his grip on the Republican presidential nomination and bolstering the likelihood of a rematch later this year against U.S. President Joe Biden.
The result was a setback for former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who invested significant time and financial resources into winning the State. She was the last major challenger in the race after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ended his presidential bid over the weekend, allowing her to campaign as the sole alternative to Trump. Ms. Haley intensified her criticism of the former president, questioning his mental acuity and pitching herself as a unifying candidate who would usher in generational change.
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The appeals failed to resonate with enough voters. Mr. Trump can now boast of being the first Republican presidential candidate to win open races in Iowa and New Hampshire since both States began leading the election calendar in 1976, a striking sign of how rapidly Republicans have rallied around him to make him their nominee for the third consecutive time.
Earlier, Ms. Haley insisted she would not drop out if she loses Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary to the former president. Mr. Trump’s allies were already ramping up pressure on the former U.N. ambassador to leave the race if she falls by a large margin.
“I’m running against Donald Trump, and I’m not going to talk about an obituary,” Ms. Haley told reporters.
Mr. Trump won New Hampshire’s Republican primary big during his first run for president in 2016, though some of his allies lost key races here during the midterms two years ago. Ms. Haley had to contend with an opponent who has a deep bond with the GOP base and had concentrated on winning New Hampshire decisively enough that it would end the competitive phase of the Republican nomination battle.
Mr. Trump won the Iowa caucuses by 30 points. Ms. Haley finished third, behind Mr. DeSantis. Next month’s South Carolina primary is the next State where both Mr. Trump and Ms. Haley would compete. Ms. Haley was twice elected governor of her home State, but almost every top elected Republican in South Carolina backs Mr. Trump.