Nikki Haley won the Republican primary in Washington, DC Sunday — cinching her very first 2024 primary victory against frontrunner Donald Trump.
Haley, 52, was declared the winner by the Associated Press after taking all 19 delegates at stake in a GOP primary that took place in one of the most heavily Democratic jurisdictions in the country.
DC counts just 23,000 registered Republicans.
“Who says there’s no Republicans in DC, come on,” she joked with supporters during a campaign event in the nation’s capital on Friday. “We’re trying to make sure that we touch every hand that we can and speak to every person.”
Haley’s spokesperson noted that her victory makes her the first woman to win a Republican presidential primary contest in US history.
It also marks Trump’s first 2024 primary loss — though he’s expected to sweep this week’s Super Tuesday contests.
Despite her losses up until this point, Haley, the only remaining Republican challenger to the former president, has vowed to stay in the running at least through the 15 Super Tuesday races.
Meanwhile, Trump, 77, seemed unbothered by his very first loss.
He sarcastically congratulated the former South Carolina governor on being named “Queen of the Swamp by the lobbyists and DC insiders that want to protect the failed status quo” in a statement Sunday night.
Trump won his last DC primary when he ran uncontested in 2020 but lost at a distant third four years earlier behind Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
Haley has repeatedly argued during her campaign that she is the only Republican between her and Trump who can beat President Joe Biden during the general election.
But Trump has won over Republicans time after time, causing all other GOP presidential candidates to drop out and endorse him. He recently dominated Haley in caucuses in Missouri, Idaho and Michigan and is expected to easily sail to become the party’s pick to run against Biden.
1 comment:
Yeah, the tide is turning. Not.
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