Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley declared Tuesday night that the Republican presidential race is “far from over” — despite failing in her bid to upset former President Donald Trump in the New Hampshire primary.
“New Hampshire is the first in the nation, it’s not the last in the nation,” Haley, 52, told supporters in Concord minutes after Trump’s victory was projected by the media. “This race is far from over. There are dozens more states to go. And next up is my sweet home state of South Carolina”
Haley initially pinned her campaign hopes on a surprise victory in the Granite State — garnering the support of popular Republican Gov. Chris Sununu and 2022 GOP Senate candidate Don Bolduc — but that support was not enough to prevent the race from being called as the final vote closed at 8 p.m.
With 36% of the estimated votes counted, the former president had 53.6% support compared to Haley’s 45.3%.
But Haley insisted in her concession speech that she had received “almost half the vote” and would “keep going up.”
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley declared that the Republican presidential race is still “far from over” – despite losing to former President Donald Trump as the polls closed. Getty Images
Live election results from New Hampshire
New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan has predicted a high turnout, with 322,000 Granite State residents expected to cast ballots in the Republican primary and 88,000 in the Democratic primary.
But even with more than 50,000 New Hampshire independents, or undeclared voters, ready to vote for Haley, Trump emerged victorious and calls among his supporters grew louder for the former ambassador to the United Nations to be ousted.
“I want to congratulate Donald Trump,” Haley said, after thanking Sununu, Bolduc and others for their support.
“I want to congratulate Donald Trump,” Haley said, after thanking New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and others for their support. AP
He went on to lash out at the “political class” who he said were “knockin’ down saying this race is over,” before blaming Trump and President Biden.
“With Donald Trump, you have one mess after another. This court case, that controversy, this tweet, that senior moment,” Haley said. “You can’t fix a Joe Biden mess with a Republican mess.”
His statement also referred to words during the former president’s primary threshold address to his supporters, in which he confused Haley with House Speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and “accused me of not providing security at the Capitol on January 6. “
“The worst kept secret in politics is how badly Democrats want to run against Donald Trump,” Haley added.
“South Carolina voters don’t want a coronation. They want elections,” he concluded, offering another invitation to the candidates to debate him. “We’re just getting started.”
“The worst kept secret in politics is how badly Democrats want to oppose Donald Trump,” Haley told supporters. AP
“Thanks for the love of New Hampshire,” he concluded, “we’re going home to South Carolina.”
Trump released several posts on his Truth Social account during Haley’s speech, showing his strong lead over Biden in the general election race.
“Haley said she had to WIN in New Hampshire. HE IS NOT!!!” he said. “HE JUST LOST NEVADA, NEXT!”
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump told reporters that he did not consider Haley a “threat.”
“I don’t care if he stays. Let him do whatever he wants. It doesn’t matter,” he said outside a polling station in Londonderry.
With Haley skipping the Feb. 8 Republican caucus in Nevada in favor of a nonbinding primary on Feb. 6, the two will face off in the Feb. 24 South Carolina primary, where Trump leads the polls by more than 30 points, according to the RealClearPolitics average
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
