Nikki Haley defeats Donald Trump in Washington DC vote - becoming first woman to win Republican presidential primary
4 March 2024, 14:06
Nikki Haley has defeated Donald Trump in the Washington DC primary - clinching his first win over the former president in the 2024 race to become the Republican presidential candidate.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Haley has suffered a string of heavy defeats to Trump, including her home state where she was governor until 2017.
But her debut win on the 2024 campaign makes her the first woman to win a Republican presidential primary in US history.
Haley, who was US Ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, won 62.9 per cent of the vote to the former president's 33.2 per cent.
She will receive all 19 Republican delegates on offer in Washington DC, CBS reported.
Despite the win, Trump has an almost insurmountable lead over Haley - 247 delegates to Haley's 43 - and will most likely stand as the Republican candidate seeking to unseat Joe Biden in November.
While most Republican presidential hopefuls like Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence suspended their campaigns after Trump blitzed the early primaries, Haley has stayed in as she looks ahead to Trump's scheduled court appearances later this year.
Haley's win in DC is viewed as largely symbolic as there are only around 23,000 registered Republicans in the capital. According to the Washington Post, just over 2,000 voted in the primary.
DC is also heavily Democratic-leaning. Biden won the district in 2020 with 92 per cent of the vote.
It comes after Haley held a rally in DC on Friday before heading back to North Carolina and a series of states holding Super Tuesday primaries.
She joked with more than 100 supporters inside a hotel ballroom, "who says there's no Republicans in DC, come on".
"We're trying to make sure that we touch every hand that we can and speak to every person," Haley said.
Read More: Minister Bim Afolami says tweet in which he referred to Donald Trump as 'a cancer' is appropriate
As she gave her standard campaign speech, criticising Trump for running up the federal deficit, one rallygoer said: "He cannot win a general election. It's madness."
That prompted agreement from Haley, who argues that she can deny Biden a second term but Trump will not be able to.
The Trump Campaign has been quick to dismiss Haley's win, however, branding her as "Queen of the Swamp".
Tomorrow, on Super Tuesday, voters in 15 states and another territory will nominate Republican candidates. A total of 874 Republican delegates are up for grabs.
Haley said she will stay in the campaign until at least tomorrow, depending on how she fairs in the primaries.
