Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley notched her first victory of the 2024 primary campaign, besting former President Trump in Washington, D.C.
Haley won the contest with nearly 63% of the vote, according to an Associated Press call of the race about 90 minutes after polls closed Sunday. The results mean the former South Carolina governor will walk away with 19 delegates.
Sunday’s primary had a lower turnout than in 2016. The tally now stands at 244 for Trump and 43 for Haley.
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 Democrat, with President Biden garnering 92% of the Washington, D.C., vote in the 2020 election.
TRUMP WINS MICHIGAN GOP PRIMARY, BRINGING HIM STEP CLOSER TO SECURING REPUBLICAN NOMINATION
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former President 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, Virgin Islands, South Carolina and Michigan. The seemingly easy stream of wins has solidified the former president’s front-runner 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 Trump (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
DC PRIMARY REPRESENTS HALEY’S BEST CHANCE YET TO BEAT TRUMP
The former president held a commanding lead ahead of the Washington, D.C., primary with 10 times as many delegates as Haley before his first loss on Sunday. Trump maintains his strong lead going into the most important week on the primary calendar despite Haley gaining 19 delegates with her victory in the nation’s capital.
The former South Carolina governor is 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 Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event in Orangeburg, South Carolina, on Feb. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)
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The Haley campaign looks to carry the momentum to Monday’s contest in North Dakota, where 29 delegates are up for grabs, and this week’s Super Tuesday, when voters in 15 states head to the polls to determine who gets a share of 865 total delegates. Haley has invested heavily in Super Tuesday; last week, her campaign announced a seven-figure ad buy in various states set to vote that day.
The magic number toward securing the GOP nomination is 1,215 delegates, meaning no candidate can become the presumptive nominee after the upcoming week’s primaries are over.
