US: Nikki Haley Secures First Primary Victory, Defeating Donald Trump in Washington DC

According to The Hill projections on Monday, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has emerged victorious over former US President Donald Trump in the Republican primary in Washington DC.

With all precincts reporting, Haley secured 1,274 votes compared to former President Trump’s 676, as reported by the US-based news daily. This marks Haley’s first triumph over the former president in the 2024 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

The primary contest unfolded in a downtown hotel near Washington DC’s lobbying hub over the weekend. Republican party officials revealed that Haley captured nearly 63 percent of the vote, according to Politico.

Haley’s win in the Washington, DC Republican primary follows Trump’s victories over her in caucuses in Missouri and Idaho, as well as at a Republican convention in Michigan on Saturday. Trump is currently leading the race for the GOP nomination and is expected to secure wins in primaries across 16 Super Tuesday states this week.

The GOP electorate in Washington, DC, where Republicans constitute only 5 percent of registered voters, differs significantly from the conservative base found in most other parts of the US, according to Politico. Patrick Mara, chair of the DC Republican Party, described DC Republicans as a “more sophisticated” electorate compared to those in other states.

Voting for the Washington, DC Republican primary took place over three days at the Madison Hotel, where Haley held a campaign rally on Friday, Politico reported. Despite Trump’s warning to DC lobbyists that they would face blacklisting from future Trump White House access if they failed to vote in the primary, Haley criticized Trump’s approach during her campaign in Massachusetts on Saturday.

Although Haley secured victory in the primary, she has not indicated whether she plans to continue her campaign beyond the contests on Tuesday. Speaking to a roundtable of DC political reporters on Friday, Haley stated that she was solely focused on Super Tuesday and had no public events or election gatherings scheduled for Tuesday.

As per The Hill, Trump currently leads in early delegates attained, with the number expected to significantly increase on Tuesday as additional states vote. Candidates require at least 1,215 delegates to mathematically secure the Republican nomination.

Attention now turns to 16 states participating in Super Tuesday on March 5, including Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa (caucus), Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia. Additionally, American Samoa is scheduled to hold a nominating contest on March 5. The Democratic primary in Washington, DC, will take place in June.