5 takeaways from the New Hampshire primary

Former President Trump defeated Nikki Haley in the nation's first New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, just a week after winning the crucial Iowa caucuses.

Haley has closed the gap with Trump since her last performance in Iowa in the Granite State, but Trump still wins by about 10 points, as Decision Desk Headquarters predicted at the time of publication. did.

The Republican election race is currently a direct showdown between the two leading candidates for the White House, and it is almost certain that the front-runner, Mr. Trump, will win the nomination.

Meanwhile, President Biden won the state's Democratic primary by defeating a challenger from his own party as an additional candidate.

Here are five takeaways from the New Hampshire primary.

Trump solidifies his position as almost certain Republican nominee

Trump's victory in New Hampshire was immediately predicted at 8 p.m. ET when the last polls closed in the state, solidifying his status as the almost certain Republican presidential nominee.

Republicans largely expected Trump to win the Granite State, with some predicting a double-digit lead, but Haley's strength among independents left it unclear how close the race would be heading into Tuesday. There was a question as to whether it would be possible.

The average New Hampshire poll compiled by Decision Desk HQ and The Hill has Trump at 51% and Haley at 37%. Trump won last week's Iowa caucuses by a landslide 30 points, but Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy withdrew and later endorsed former President Trump.

Sen. Tim Scott (RS.C.), who gave up his bid for the White House in November, also endorsed Trump in the days leading up to the New Hampshire primary.

But when Trump skeptics and Republicans were asked which candidate they would support, more elected officials said they would support Trump after his victory in New Hampshire.

“We've seen enough. To beat Biden, the Republican Party will need to unite around a single candidate, and it's clear that President Trump is the choice of Republican voters,” said Senate Minority Leader Trump. said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). leadership, I have written With X.

He added: “Four more years of domestic policy failures, including the Biden border crisis and record inflation, and foreign policy failures that have emboldened our adversaries and made the world a more dangerous place, must be stopped.” added.

Biden dismisses opponents in primary election

On Tuesday, President Biden was projected to win New Hampshire despite not appearing on the ballot, handily defeating his Democratic challengers as a write-in candidate.

Mr. Biden was absent from the vote because New Hampshire Democrats opposed the Democratic National Committee's plan to hold the primary on Tuesday, the same day as the Republican race, and knock the Granite State out of the nation's No. 1 slot.

Biden, who is required to abide by DNC rules, has chosen not to run in the Democratic race. And the National Party said Tuesday's campaign will have no impact on delegates to its national convention later this year.

However, Biden's supporters in New Hampshire launched a write-in campaign to push the incumbent to victory anyway, arguing that it was important to boost Biden in the early key states.

According to Decision Desk Headquarters, Republican front-runner Trump won the Republican race, and the president was expected to defeat Democratic candidates Marianne Williamson and Congressman Dean Phillips of Minnesota.

The write-in victory reflects Biden's strength among the party's base as he continues to campaign for another four years against his Democratic rivals amid declining approval ratings.

“As we work towards November 2024, one thing is becoming increasingly clear today: Donald Trump is heading straight into a head-to-head general election contest and will not show up at the polls,” the Biden campaign said. “I will be running against the only person who has ever beaten me, Joe Biden.” he said after receiving the forecast.

Haley took a hit

Tuesday was a sleepy day for President Trump, but Haley took a hit in the Granite State as she sought to win support from both independents and Republicans as the last remaining viable Trump alternative in the race. Ta.

New Hampshire offered Haley the best chance to do well in the early state nomination race, given that undeclared voters can vote in the Republican primary. But even though some polls in recent weeks suggested she was trailing Trump by single digits, Haley ended up convincing both voters that she was I couldn't convince my camp enough to unite.

That's despite Haley having the backing of popular four-term Gov. Chris Sununu (Republican).

Still, in an address to supporters Tuesday night, Haley said she would not withdraw from the Republican presidential primary, even though the full results of the primary were not yet in, saying, “Next up is my favorite… South Carolina,” he said. ”

But her loss in New Hampshire raises new questions about her viability as Trump and Haley prepare for the South Carolina Republican primary next month. Polls show the former U.N. ambassador trails Trump in his home state.

The average South Carolina poll compiled by Decision Desk Headquarters and The Hill has Trump at 61% and Haley at 27%.

TRupp's victory highlights divisions within the Republican Party

Trump's victory in New Hampshire was predicted fairly quickly, but the former president did not enjoy a landslide like the one we saw in Iowa last week.

At the time of the announcement, the vote share was reported to be 74%, and the Decision Desk headquarters estimated that Trump had 54.8% and Haley had 44%, a difference of about 10 points.

Exit polls also showed that Trump and Haley appeal to very different voters. According to a CNN poll, 80% of Trump supporters believe President Biden did not legitimately win the 2020 election, compared to 17% who said he legitimately won. Conversely, 83% of Haley supporters said Biden legitimately won the 2020 election, compared to 15% who said Biden did not legitimately win.

CNN's exit poll also found that about 40% of those who voted for the former UN ambassador did so out of opposition to his rival.

If Trump becomes the Republican presidential nominee, he is likely to end up with the support of many of Haley's voters, but the rifts shown in the Republican primary are likely to lead to factions of voters uniting around Trump. This suggests that the party may see the party as having a difficult time trying to achieve its goals.

The primary season is short and seems devoid of drama.

“New Hampshire is the first in the nation. It's not the last in the nation. This race isn't over yet. There are still dozens of states left,” Haley promised in remarks after expected loss in the Granite State. did.

But some within the party have long predicted that back-to-back wins for Trump in Iowa and New Hampshire could all but clinch the former Republican president's nomination.

Trump has a double-digit lead in national opinion polls and is running as the de facto incumbent in the 2024 election. And although a crowded field of candidates has been vying for the top spot to replace President Trump for months, some officials believe the race is essentially decided at the time of Trump's announcement. It states that

This month, four leading candidates for the White House ran as Republicans, making the race a head-to-head contest between Trump and Haley.

On Tuesday, Haley touted that her campaign “got nearly half the votes,” but her campaign is now wondering if that's enough to prove competitive for the nomination and He faces questions about whether that will be enough to propel the campaign beyond South Carolina's February primary.

Otherwise, the Republican primary season could be over just a few weeks after it started.

The race now faces a month-long gap until the next key state is contested, with South Carolina's first Republican primary in the South scheduled for February 24th.