iNDICA NEWS BUREAU–
Early trends in New Hampshire have projected former President Donald Trump to win the GOP primary, The Hill reported, citing Decision Desk HQ. This comes as a major blow to his Indian American rival Nikki Haley. This win puts Trump one step closer to securing his party’s nomination and getting a historic 2020 rematch with incumbent President Joe Biden.
According to CNN, at 10.30 pm ET, Trump leads with 54.3 per cent votes and Haley trailing at 45.5 per cent with 53 per cent of the votes counted.
Trump’s win in the Granite State is especially damaging to Haley because she had invested much of her time and resources here, even notching the endorsement of popular Governor Chris Sununu.
Earlier in the week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis pulled out of the White House race and endorsed Trump, leaving Haley as Trump’s sole remaining major challenger. Haley, a former South Carolina Governor and former Trump appointee as UN ambassador, faced pressure to perform well in New Hampshire after being a close third in Iowa to DeSantis.
But polling in recent days showed Haley facing a tough hill to climb in toppling Trump, with an average of New Hampshire surveys from Decision Desk HQ and The Hill showing Trump at 51 per cent and Haley at 37 per cent.
Trump was also further buoyed by former rivals coalescing around him. Just before the Iowa GOP caucus, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum endorsed Trump. Sen. Tim Scott and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy also endorsed him ahead of the primary.
Haley received endorsements from former candidates, including former Rep. Will Hurd and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson.
Trump’s win in New Hampshire raises questions around whether Haley will continue her primary challenge heading into her home state of South Carolina, as both wins underscore Trump’s dominance in the party and as the next early voting nominating contests offer an almost impossible runaway for Haley.
However, Haley’s campaign signalled before the New Hampshire primary that it would compete in South Carolina. AdImpact also noted that her campaign placed ad reservations in the Palmetto State that would run beginning on Thursday.
