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Haley posts first primary win in Washington D.C.
With 63 percent of the vote, Haley got all of the district’s 19 delegates
Nikki Haley speaks at arally in Portland. / X/@NikkiHaley
In what is seen as a badly needed boost to her campaign, Nikki Haley won the primary in Washington, DC, handily defeating former President Donald Trump by 30 points.
Delegates of the Grand Old Party, many of them in politics or government, gave a 63 percent to 33 percent margin to Haley, enabling her to get all of the district’s 19 delegates. Thus far, Trump has 247 delegates compared to 43 for Haley.
Sunday’s contest was seen in many quarters as perhaps the only place that Haley could register a win in this primary contest in a place that Trump managed to get only 14 percent in 2016. Traditionally, turnout in DC has been low; hence about just 2000 Republican delegates showed up at a lone voting center at Hotel Madison in the downtown area, which was not to be surprising. In recent memory the highest turnout of over 6000 was in 2008 when John McCain was on the ticket.
Republicans closest to Washington’s dysfunction know that Donald Trump has brought nothing but chaos and division for the past 8 years. It's time to start winning again and move our nation forward! pic.twitter.com/QMNmcZHYGg
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) March 4, 2024
From the very beginning, Haley has been maintaining that she is definitely in the fray, at least until Super Tuesday on March 5 when 15 states and American Samoa host their event. Political analysts and media pundits are maintaining that Haley is in for a huge disappointment on Tuesday too as many of these state in the South are seen as Trump strongholds.
States like California and Texas have a rich haul of delegates, prompting Haley to place a large bet on Texas. But going into Super Tuesday and beyond, Haley has to face ground realities as well: many of these states do not allow Independents to cast their ballots and thereby putting a dent into the fortunes of the former Governor of South Carolina. If Haley is able to get by thus far it is on account of backing of Independents. “She needs Republican votes to win” has been one refrain.
One perception is that Haley may not quite pack her bags after Super Tuesday but will wait it out until March 19 when states holding primaries include Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas and Ohio. With 1215 delegates needed to win the party nomination, that magic number is expected to be reached on that day.
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