After three days of voting in the party’s only polling place in the capital, a downtown hotel, CNN projects that former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley will win the Republican presidential primary in Washington, DC. On the eve of what is anticipated to be a pivotal week in the GOP primary, Haley secures her first-ever primary victory as she makes a last-ditch effort as the contest moves nationwide. Donald Trump, the former president, is expected to accumulate more delegates on Super Tuesday as he has dominated every other early nomination process. In a statement praising the former governor as the first female nominee for president,Nikki Haley’s spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas said, “It’s not surprising that Republicans closest to Washington dysfunction are rejecting Donald Trump and all his chaos.” Even though it was Nikki Haley’s first victory, it was not a huge surprise. Many in Washington thought that the District offered her the best, and maybe the only, opportunity to win a primary. With about 22,000 registered voters, Trump’s hold on the GOP in the nation’s capital has never fully matched his dominance nationwide. Although he ran unopposed in the 2020 primary, Trump came in third in the previous cycle. In a conspicuous display of optimism, Nikki Haley hosted an event on Friday with local GOP leaders.
Nikki Haley won the election very well
In a statement, the Trump campaign attempted to characterise Nikki Haley’s victory as a defeat. Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated, “Tonight’s results in Washington, D.C., reaffirm the object of President Trump’s campaign—he will drain the swamp and put America first.” “Their queen has been claimed by the swamp.” For the time being, Republicans will largely disregard Washington, at least during the upcoming general election. In 2020, Biden secured the victory with over 92% of the vote. The District is not and has never endorsed a Republican for president. The GOP reached its pinnacle in 1972 when Richard Nixon easily won reelection with a little over 21% of the vote.
Nearing Super Tuesday
There is hardly any Republican presence in Washington, D.C. In a city of almost 680,000 residents, just over 2,000 people cast ballots in the GOP primary. Nikki Haley had lost to Trump in contests held in her home state of South Carolina, as well as in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada. Supporters of Trump can whine about “the swamp” all they want, but “many people who worked for Trump – who know him and his administration best – rejected him,” according to Republican strategist Doug Heye. Republicans from D.C. send only 19 out of 2,429 delegates to their national convention, which takes place in Milwaukee from July 15–18. According to the Associated Press, Trump had 244 delegates to Haley’s 24 at the start of the day. On Super Tuesday, there will be 845 delegates available, and the former president needs 1,215 delegates to secure the nomination. Despite the tiny Republican presence in D.C., the caucuses attracted some attention due to claims made by the Trump campaign that a specific voter group—lobbyists—was threatened.
Haste for the nomination
Furthermore, the low turnout expectations created an opportunity for a unique situation unmatched by any previous competition, as slim margins were anticipated. In an interview last week, Patrick Mara, the chair of the Washington GOP, said, “It could be anywhere between 2,000 and 6,000 voters.” To put it bluntly, everyone has a chance to win in this situation. All that matters are the activities of the campaigns and voter turnout. In 2016, the GOP primary was won by Florida Senator Marco Rubio with about 2,800 votes. There were 5,200 votes cast in the 2012 contest won by Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, the party’s nominee; in 2008, there were about 6,200 votes cast in a contest won by eventual Republican nominee John McCain. According to Lisa Murkowski, she “could not” support either Biden or Trump in 2024. According to Mara, to encourage participation, the campaigns of Haley and Trump both used text messages and phone calls, with some volunteers even going door to door. Unlike state nominating contests, the local Republican Party is in charge of the primary, which was held at the Madison Hotel.