Former U.S. President Donald Trump emerged victorious in last night’s New Hampshire Republican primary election, securing 54.8% of the votes, as of press time. His competitor, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, came in second with 43.2% of the votes placed, adding eight delegates to her tally.
The New Hampshire primary election had 22 delegates up for grabs, with Trump and Haley obtaining 11 and 8 delegates, respectively, as of press time. The state allocates delegates proportionally to the percentage of votes a candidate receives.
Following his New Hampshire win, Trump took the stage to address his supporters, maintaining confidence in his ability to win the Republican presidential bid.
“We won in 2016,” Trump said to the crowd. “If you really remember and want to play it straight, we also won in 2020.”
Despite placing third in the Iowa caucuses and second in the New Hampshire primary election, Haley maintained resolve in continuing her campaign to South Carolina’s Feb. 3 Republican primary election.
“This race is far from over,” Haley told a crowd in New Hampshire. “There are dozens of states left to go, and the next one is my sweet state of South Carolina.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended his presidential campaign on Jan. 21 following a loss in Iowa’s Jan. 15 caucus, making Trump and Haley the last major candidates in the race for the Republican party presidential nomination.
DeSantis’ decision to drop may have been fueled by pressure to rebuild connections with the rest of the party, according to Associate Professor of Political Science Zachary Peskowitz.
“There’s pressure from the party and pressure from other Trump-aligned politicians, once you don't really have a chance anymore, to drop out and get on board,” Peskowitz said.
Trump’s success in the Republican primaries comes amid a month filled with frequent court appearances as he attempts to battle four indictments.
The former president faces multiple charges in four different states over allegations of election interference in Georgia, illegal possession of classified documents, falsifying business records of “hush money” payments to adult actress Stormy Daniels, as well as conspiring to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election. Despite his limited campaign engagement and ongoing legal battles, Trump maintains significant support among Republican voters.
Emory School of Law Distinguished Professor Thomas Arthur said he believes these indictments may have only strengthened his presidential campaign, as the “Iowa layperson” may only notice that Trump’s indictments have a democratic prosecutor.
“It’s easy for the Trump guys to spin this as, ‘Look, they’re just coming to get me,’” Arthur said.
