Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley notched her first victory of the 2024 primary campaign, besting former President Donald Trump in Washington D.C.
Haley won the contest with nearly 63% of the vote, according to an Associated Press call of the race shortly after polls closed Sunday. The results mean the former South Carolina governor will walk away with 19 delegates.
Washington D.C. represented Haley’s possible best shot at notching a victory and ending Trump’s undefeated primary streak. While Trump won the district in an uncontested 2020 primary, he finished a distant third behind Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich during the 2016 primary. The district also leans heavily towards Democrats, with President Biden garnering 92% of the Washington D.C. vote in the 2020 Election.
TRUMP WINS THE MICHIGAN GOP PRIMARY, BRINGING HIM ONE STEP CLOSER TO SECURING REPUBLICAN NOMINATION
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump has so far made easy work of this year’s GOP primary, notching victories in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, the Virgin Islands, South Carolina and Michigan. The seemingly easy stream of wins has solidified the former president’s frontrunner status in the race, with the campaign telling Fox News Digital ahead of the results that they have already begun to look forward to the general election.
“Republican voters have delivered resounding wins for President Trump in every single primary contest and this race is over,” a spokesperson for the campaign said. “Our focus is now on Joe Biden and the general election.”
Former President Donald Trump. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
DC PRIMARY REPRESENTS HALEY’S BEST CHANCE YET TO BEAT TRUMP
The former president held a commanding lead heading into Washington D.C.’s contest, holding ten times as many delegates as Haley before his first primary loss. Trump still holds a commanding lead heading into the most important week on the calendar, with Haley only gaining 19 with the victory in the nation’s capital.
Haley, meanwhile, has remained as the only other contender in the field, vowing to stay in the race despite a recent loss in her home state of South Carolina.
Republican presidential candidate former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event at the Orangeburg Mall Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Orangeburg, S.C. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)
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The Haley campaign will look to carry the momentum to Monday’s contest in North Dakota, where 29 delegates will be up for grabs and this week’s “Super Tuesday,” where voters in 15 states will head to the polls to determine who gets a share of 865 total delegates. Haley has invested heavily in Super Tuesday, with her campaign announcing a seven-figure ad-buy in various states set to vote that day last week.
The magic number to secure the nomination is 1,215 delegates, meaning no candidate will become the presumptive nominee yet in the upcoming week.