Washington: Indian-American Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said that the race for White House 2024 was “far from over” after her former boss Donald Trump won the New Hampshire primary, solidifying his position as GOP’s likely nominee.
With 36 per cent of the estimated vote counted, the former president registered 53.6 per cent support against Haley’s 45.3 per cent in the critical early state contest Tuesday, the New York Post reported.
“New Hampshire is first in the nation, it is not last in the nation,” Haley, the two-time former South Carolina governor, told supporters in Concord minutes after Trump’s projected victory by the local media.
Congratulating Trump for the victory, Haley said that he “earned it” but added that “this race is far from over. There are dozens of states left to go. And the next one is my sweet state of South Carolina”.
Trump, who doesn’t consider Haley as “a threat”, leads her by about 30 points in South Carolina ahead of the February 24 primary in the state, according to a polling average by RealClearPolitics.
Calls among Trump’s supporters grew louder for the former ambassador to the United Nations to drop out of the race, especially after the former president’s victories in the states of Iowa and New Hampshire.
Haley who was endorsed by Republican Governor Chris Sununu and 2022 GOP Senate candidate Don Bolduc, went on to blast both Trump and President Biden.
“With Donald Trump, you have one bout of chaos after another. This court case, that controversy, this tweet, that senior moment… You can’t fix Joe Biden’s chaos with Republican chaos,” Haley said.
Meanwhile, Trump, celebrated his win with a victory speech in Nashua, slamming Haley without naming her. “She’s doing a speech like she won. She didn’t win, she lost,” Trump said.
