- Donald Trump won the New Hampshire primary by ten points over Nikki Haley.
- Buoyed by her strong showing among independents, Nikki Haley assured that she would continue her campaign through South Carolina at the end of February and on Super Tuesday on March 5th.
- But Donald Trump is asserting his control over the Republican base, and the former president is almost certain to win his party's nomination to challenge Joe Biden.
From our correspondent in the United States,
It's almost a vote for nothing. On Tuesday, Donald Trump won the New Hampshire primary, cementing his status as the favorite to win the Republican nomination and challenge Joe Biden on November 5. But Nikki Haley did slightly better than expected, particularly by dominating her opponent among independent voters – who will play a crucial role in November – and she asserted that her campaign is “just beginning.” Even though she says she wants to continue at least until Super Tuesday, when a third of the states will vote on March 5, history is inexorable: A candidate who won Iowa and New Hampshire always has the Republican nomination Party won.
Donald Trump wins his personal duel without finishing the game
After Ron DeSantis dropped out, the first duel of the primary election took place between Donald Trump and Nikki Haley. In that face-to-face battle, the former president won by about 11 points, with 55% of the vote, compared to 44% for Haley, according to non-final numbers. That's a margin twice as small as when he won in 2016 against half a dozen candidates who had split the anti-Trump vote.
“We’ve won New Hampshire three times now,” the former president told his supporters, chanting “USA, USA.” He mocked Nikki Haley “for saying she had to win but losing.” Surrounded by former candidates Tim Scott and Vivek Ramaswamy, Donald Trump has played the unification card and wants to turn to his likely duel against Joe Biden.
The race is just beginning, replies Nikki Haley
Like a good politician, Nikki Haley rushed to start the count when the gap was only 7 points. According to her, “the race has just begun,” and the voters of South Carolina – of which she was governor – who will vote on February 24, “want not a coronation, but an election.”
His problem is that no state will be as sympathetic to him as New Hampshire. Poll estimates showed nearly half of voters were independents who identify as neither Republicans nor Democrats, and Haley won nearly two out of every three voters. In contrast, Donald Trump is ahead among Republicans, with three out of four voting for him.
Haley therefore believes that she is best placed to beat Biden: “A Donald Trump nomination is equivalent to a victory for Joe Biden and a Kamala Harris presidency,” she emphasized, seeming to suggest that the American president, who Turning 82 in November, he would not be able to serve a second term.
A Trump nomination is almost certain
“Nikki Haley has slightly outperformed compared to recent polls, but it remains a defeat,” former Republican Party spokesman Doug Heye told 20 Minutes. According to him, “the party will continue to rally around Donald Trump, and Haley will be under pressure to leave.” » On Tuesday evening, influential Republican Senator John Cornyn, who is anything but a Trumpist, came out strongly behind the former president.
“Second place is the last place in a matchup,” quips Brett Marson, Republican consultant in Arizona. “There is no logical reason for it to continue like this, but some people like suicide missions.”
What is certain is that Nikki Haley has enough money to continue her campaign for a month. But if she doesn't take off in the polls in South Carolina, she could throw in the towel before the end of February and avoid the humiliation of a home loss.