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Nikki Haley won the first Republican primary contest of the 2024 election on Sunday in Washington, DC. The victory earned her 19 delegates and the title of the first woman to win a Republican primary in history.
Haley received 62% of the votes, compared to 33% for Trump. Just 2,035 voters participated in the primary contest that will likely mark the former South Carolina governor's only win before Super Tuesday (North Dakota holds its Republican primary today).
The former president had just emerged from a clean sweep of the Republican primaries in Idaho, Michigan and Missouri on Saturday. It is expected to sweep again on Super Tuesday when 15 more states are up for grabs.
“It is no surprise that Republicans closest to the dysfunction in Washington reject Donald Trump and all his chaos,” Olivia Perez Cubas, Haley’s spokeswoman, said in a statement.
Heading into Super Tuesday, Trump has 244 delegates compared to 43 for Haley, with 1,215 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination. There will be 854 delegates at stake on March 5th.
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Trump attacks Nikki Haley
Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, appears to have quietly accepted the loss to Haley. In fact, his campaign had a blast responding to the news.
“Tonight’s results in Washington, D.C., reaffirm President Trump’s campaign goal, which is that he will drain the swamp and put America first,” Carolyn Leavitt, Trump campaign press secretary, said in a statement.
“While Nikki has been roundly rejected in the rest of America, she has just been crowned Queen of the Swamp by D.C. lobbyists and insiders who want to protect a failing status quo,” Levitt added. “The swamp has claimed their queen.”
There aren't many political pundits who think Nikki Haley's win in Washington, D.C., will change the momentum of the race. The fact that the Trump campaign has already turned it into a liability is proof of that.
“President Trump will fight for every American who has been let down by these D.C. insiders and devastated by Joe Biden’s failures,” Leavitt added.
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Haley celebrates the swamp's victory
Nikki Haley celebrated her Republican primary victory in Washington, D.C., in a post on the social media platform X.
“Let's do it. Thank you DC! We fight for every inch,” she wrote.
To be sure, the moral victory in the cesspool of American politics amounts to little more than an inch in Haley's failed campaign.
Meanwhile, Trump took to his own social media platform to also celebrate Haley's win, using one of his nicknames for her in the process.
“I've deliberately stayed away from voting in D.C. because it's a swamp, with so few delegates, there's no upside,” Trump asserts. “Birdbrain spent all her time, money and effort there.”
In a separate post, Trump urged Republican voters to achieve a resounding victory over Nikki Haley on Super Tuesday and March 12.
“Each of you will have the opportunity to help us end this primary quickly, victoriously and decisively,” he said.
Haley pledged to stay in the race “as long as we can compete.”
