Trump sweeps New Hampshire primary, but Haley says ‘race is far from over’

Former US President Donald Trump’s victory was easy — and unsurprising. The Associated Press declared him the 77-year-old a winner the moment that polls closed on Tuesday, Jan. 24, leaving his sole rival, Nikki Haley, 52, firmly in last place.

Trump’s victory all but cemented him as the Republican nominee. In his victory speech, he noted the historical precedent for his overall victory: “When you win Iowa, and you win New Hampshire, [other candidates have] never had a loss — so we’re not going to be the first, I can tell you,” he told the crowd of supporters.

Yet Trump's only remaining contender isn’t giving up. “New Hampshire is first in the nation — it is not the last in the nation,” she told a cheering crowd on Tuesday night, after congratulating Trump on his victory. “This race is far from over, there are dozens of states left!”

In her speech, Haley sounded optimistic about where the next contest will take place — her “sweet” home state of South Carolina. According to CNN, her campaign said that it will place $4 million on advertisements there. However, polls in South Carolina, where she was once governor, put Trump ahead by 30 percentage points, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Trump called Haley “delusional" in a post on Truth Social while she was speaking. Later, during his speech, he mocked her as an “imposter” who had been beaten “so badly" despite claiming a victory.

In the wake of her loss, a growing number of influential Republicans are calling on her to make like Ron DeSantis and drop out. Not only did Trump bring former GOP contenders to the stage to lambast Haley for continuing, Taylor Budowich, the chief executive of Mr. Trump’s super PAC wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that she is only helping Biden win and being "absurd and reckless" in her continued run.

In her speech, Haley told supporters that Trump is “the only Republican in the country who Joe Biden can defeat.” Emphasizing that they are both old and how polls suggest Haley would beat Biden, she added: “ The first party to retire its 80-year-old candidate is going to be the party that wins this election.”

NBC exit polls suggested that while Haley was chosen by 73% of Republicans who identify as moderate, 70% of those who describe themselves as conservative voted for Trump. And, of course, conservatives made up the biggest chunk of the NH electorate. Importantly, polls also showed that a minority of voters prioritized the candidate’s ability to beat Biden, and even among the 14% who did — Trump still won.

While the Nevada primaries aren't until Feb. 8, Trump already declared victory there in his Tuesday speech. Why? Haley isn't running in Nevada because the state made rules favorable to Trump, according to the New York Times. However, Trump claimed she wasn't running there because he was leading in the polls.

In the background, Biden silently won the Democrat’s New Hampshire primary too, despite not being on the ballot, as reported by the Associated Press. At the moment, his only challengers are Dean Phillips from Minnesota and self-help author Marianne Williamson. According to CNN, the president’s team is more concerned with preparing for an early start to general election campaigning.