The ride continues Donald Trump. After the victory in Iowa, the former president also takes home the New Hampshire, the Granite State, a small and cold state in New England. However, the resistance of the only alternative candidate left standing is being felt: the former governor of South Carolina and former ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, who had staked his best cards right here.
The data and the delegates
Just before seven in the morning, Italian time, with 85% of the ballots scrutinize Donald Trump leads with a double-digit gap: 54,4% against 43,4% for Nikki Haley. For now the two candidates receive respectively 11 and 8 delegates, they remain other 3 to be assigned at the end of the ballot.
“Haley lost, but she made a speech as if she had won, which she didn't,” underlined Donald Trump but “the race is far from over” countered Nikki Haley. CNN immediately underlines that this second victory, after the one in Iowa, paves the way for Trump for the third consecutive candidacy for the White House.
The projections before the polls
According to Fox News, the first network to venture the percentages, Trump was winning with 53,2% against his rival's 45,5%. Other major media outlets, with the counting still underway, calculated 54,7% for Trump compared to 43,8% for Haley. As time passes and the ballots are scrutinized, the variations become minimal. The decimals matter little: the final result is clear, as are the proportions obtained by the two contenders. New Hampshire's 22 delegates will be allocated proportionally between the two candidates – the only requirement was to receive at least 10% of the statewide vote, a condition which both met.
Haley: “The race isn't over. I am a fighter"
He doesn't seem to agree Nikki Haley, who speaking to his supporters first admitted his opponent's victory: "I wanted to congratulate Donald Trump on his victory, he earned it and I want to acknowledge it." To then specify that Trump's victory "is also a victory for Biden" and that "the race is far from over. There are still many states and the next one is my South Carolina. I am a fighter."
However, the first comment by was contemptuous Donald Trump, on social media: “Haley said she would win New Hampshire. She didn't!!! Delirious!!!,” she wrote, with as many exclamation points as she thought fit to add. Then he gives an interview to Fox News, a channel that has always had an eye on him: "Nikki Haley, you should abandon the race, otherwise we will continue to waste money, instead of spending it on Biden who is our goal."
Trump: “in November we will turn this country upside down”
A little later Trump speaks in Nashua, New Hampshire, saying that whoever wins the first two states has never lost the nomination and he will not be the first: "In November we will have great elections and we will turn this country upside down." Finally, the poisoned arrow against her rival: "If Nikki Haley won the nomination she would be investigated within fifteen minutes for little things that she doesn't want to talk about." It is not the first time that Trump insinuates without explaining: this time, however, the phrase smacks of blackmail, because it implies that his opponent has some skeleton in the closet - of which he is aware.
Biden wins "symbolic" Democratic primary in New Hampshire
About Joe Biden. Also noteworthy in New Hampshire is the president's "symbolic" victory in the Democratic primaries, in which Biden did not formally participate. In fact, he came first as a "write in" candidate, i.e. voted with a preference not pre-printed on the ballot paper. The Democratic primaries in New Hampshire were in fact held outside the calendar decided by the Democratic Party and therefore will not weigh on the national convention which will be held from 19 to 22 August in Chicago, Illinois.
Haley is the latest major challenger running against Trump
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ended his candidacy after the Iowa vote, allowing Nikki Haley to campaign as only alternative to Trump. Since then, Haley has stepped up her criticism of the former president, questioning her mental acuity and portraying herself as a candidate capable of unifying the party and ushering in generational change. In response, Trump called her “allied with communists and left-wing extremists.”
Trump can now boast of being the first Republican presidential candidate to win the primaries in both Iowa and New Hampshire since both states began to lead the electoral calendar in 1976: a sign of the speed with which the Republicans, despite the discontent of the party, they rallied around him to make him their candidate for the White House for the third time in a row.
At this point, Haley is also suffering from a psychological disadvantage that appears difficult to overcome, but before throwing in the towel she will want to see how things go on February 24th in South Carolina, the state of which she was governor. If a strong push were to come from there, she could stay in the race. Unfortunately for her, however, at the moment the polls see her significantly behind, around 20% versus Trump's 60%.
