Donald
Trump has won the New Hampshire primary, defeating his last remaining rival for
the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, former South Carolina Governor
Nikki Haley.
His victory means
the race for the nomination is all but over, even if Ms Haley is not yet ready
to end her campaign - a fact that clearly irked the former president on what
was otherwise an evening of celebration.
"She's doing...
a speech like she won," he said of his rival, who pledged to stay in the
race earlier in the evening. "She didn't win. She lost."
A rematch in
November's general election with President Joe Biden, the likely Democratic
candidate, now looks more certain.
Although Mr Trump's
victory in New Hampshire did not match the 20-point margin that was predicted
by recent polls, it should be more than enough to maintain the current
direction of the race.
He won by a
landslide in the first contest in Iowa. And the upcoming states on the Republican
primary calendar tilt more heavily in his favour than New Hampshire, suggesting
his march towards the nomination will soon become a stampede.
With each passing
vote, a truth becomes increasingly clear. As polls for many months have shown,
the Republican Party is still Donald Trump's party.
His base's loyalty
is unwavering, through dramas both legal and political. His brand of
conservative populism is in step with his party's voters, as is his focus on
issues like immigration, crime and energy.
That may not deter
Ms Haley in the short term, but the reality is that New Hampshire was her best
shot to disrupt Mr Trump's steady march toward the Republican presidential
nomination.
She spent tens of
millions of dollars here and had the endorsement of the state's popular
Republican governor, but New Hampshire's independent voters and large
proportion of college graduates were not enough to deliver victory.
Ms Haley is now
looking ahead to the primary in her home state of South Carolina next month. To
get there, however, she will need the campaign contributions to keep flowing.
Even with a
better-than-expected finish that is no guarantee, given that her long odds of
winning the nomination just got even longer, with huge Trump polling leads in
many of the remaining states.
If she does stay
afloat, she may not get a particularly warm homecoming. Mr Trump has the
endorsement of most of South Carolina's Republican establishment, and he has a
commanding lead in the polls. It was a point the former president was quick to
point out in his Tuesday night speech.
"We'll head out
to South Carolina where I think we're gonna win easily," he said in front
of a cheering crowd in the city of Nashua.
A drubbing in her old stomping ground would be an ignominious way to end what has been a relatively successful campaign for Ms Haley. It is a fate she may ultimately choose to avoid, but she has a month to try to turn that around.
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