Nikki Haley defeated Donald Trump for the first time in the Republican primary in Washington, DC on Sunday night, giving her perhaps her only victory before Super Tuesday.
The D.C. Republican Party reported that with just 2,035 voters participating, Haley won 62 percent, compared to Trump's 33 percent.
The result in D.C. comes a day after Trump's resounding wins in the GOP primaries in Idaho, Michigan and Missouri on Saturday, moving him ever closer to a rematch with Biden in November.
Her victory in Democratic-run and urban D.C. shakes Trump's dominance of nearly every corner of the Republican Party, but is not expected to have much impact nationwide.
Trump and Haley vied in the final race for the district's coveted 19 Republican delegates – out of a total of 2,429 for the Republican National Convention in July. Now, heading into Super Tuesday, Trump has 244 delegates to Haley's 43, with 1,215 needed for the GOP nomination.
D.C. was considered Haley's best chance to beat Trump in a primary race, with the former president projected to win the 15 upcoming Super Tuesday states.
In 2016, Trump finished a distant third in the D.C. GOP primary with just 14 percent, behind Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. And even though he won in an uncontested race in 2020, only about 2,800 total Republicans voted.
The Trump campaign is signaling that the D.C. contest is not as important since 15 states and one territory will vote on Super Tuesday
The former South Carolina governor stopped at the Madison Hotel Friday afternoon after the polls opened and appealed to the county's few Republicans to support her over Trump
Thousands of voters from 15 states will take part in the ballot box known as “Super Tuesday” since the 1970s.
The few and far-flung Republicans who live in the nation's capital were able to cast their ballots at only one location – the Madison Hotel – during the closed, party-run primaries Friday through Sunday.
The Trump campaign reportedly monitored whether D.C. lobbyists showed up at the polls and threatened that they would not have access to a Trump-run White House in the future if they did not vote for him in the primary.
Trump did not visit D.C. for one of his major political rallies and has repeatedly criticized the district for being so left-leaning. He called the nation's capital a “rat and graffiti infested shithole!”
However, the former South Carolina governor made a stop at the Madison Hotel on Friday after the polls opened to rally the county's roughly 23,000 registered Republicans to support Trump.
She cracked a joke above, teasing, “Who says there aren't Republicans in DC?” to laughter from the crowd of GOP voters who live in a heavily Democratic district.
The 2024 candidate addressed inefficiency in Congress in her short speech, which was well received by the Washington-based group, and Biden and Trump's failures on the economy and immigration.
Haley urged voters to “get loud” and gather friends and family to “send a message” in the primary election that “we need to go in a new direction.”
“I can’t believe this is the only place you can vote,” she quipped, drawing laughter from the roughly 150 people gathered in a small space in the hotel.
“So you all can’t leave until you vote,” she teased.
“This is the time when we must move in a new direction with a new generation and a leader who can work day and night for eight years.” No negativity, no drama, no vendettas, just hard results for the American people. It's time.'
GOP voters in the crowd Friday said they were tired of Trump and wanted Haley to restore a sense of dignity to the office of president.
They booed loudly when she mentioned Trump and were angered by the former president's swipes at veterans and his political rivals.
DC voter Dan Schubert told that he voted for Nikki because America needs a “fresh face” in the White House after years of “chaos” from Trump and Biden.
“We now have an alternative for a bright future with a smart, accomplished and experienced candidate who will give our country a bright new direction,” he added.
2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley is in Washington, DC today to try to woo the district's few Republican voters in this nation's capital
Dan said the “energy in the room” during her remarks proved she had momentum and that she had a “tremendous chance of winning this weekend.”
“I think if she wins in the District of Columbia, I think Super Tuesday will look a little different,” he added.
National security was a particularly important issue for the assembled voters, citing it as their top concern.
Another DC voter, Laura, told that Haley was efficient on the issue.
“A big part of the president’s job is foreign relations,” she said. 'And I think [Haley] would do a better job than any of the other candidates still in the race.'
She also said it was time for a “pro-life president” in the White House.
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign signaled that the D.C. race is not as important as 15 states and one territory will vote on Super Tuesday, which takes place on March 5.
Up for election are 874 delegates – 36 percent – of all delegates to this summer's Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“Republican voters delivered overwhelming victories for President Trump in every single primary contest, and that race is over,” a Trump campaign spokesman said.
“Our focus now is on Joe Biden and the general election.”
A NY Times/Siena poll on Saturday showed Trump leading Haley by 55 points in the race for the Republican nomination for Super Tuesday. 
Joe Biden, Donald Trump and Nikki Haley are the three remaining in the 2024 contest
The Haley campaign has urged voters in the district to go to the hotel
Haley's campaign isn't losing momentum — she also announced Friday that her campaign raised $12 million in February alone, despite losing every primary election so far
The former South Carolina governor vowed to stay in the race at least through Super Tuesday.
But her campaign isn't losing momentum — she also announced Friday that her campaign raised $12 million in February alone, despite losing every primary election so far.