Donald Trump wins Republican presidential primary in New Hampshire but sole opponent vows to stay in the race
24 January 2024, 01:23 | Updated: 24 January 2024, 05:24
Donald Trump has soared to victory in this evening's New Hampshire primary, taking him one step closer to becoming the Republican presidential nominee at this year's election.
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Mr Trump's victory was called by the Associated Press as final polls closed at 8pm.
It is the second victory for Mr Trump in consecutive weeks, after he outpaced Ron DeSantis in Iowa and now Nikki Haley in New Hampshire.
No Republican candidate in history has ever won the first two states and not secured the party's presidential nomination.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden won the New Hampshire Democratic primary, despite his name not actually appearing on the state’s presidential primary ballot due to an internal party row.
Speaking after his victory, Mr Trump said: "This is not your typical victory speech, but let's not have someone take a victory when she had a very bad night."
He expressed his disbelief that Ms Haley was “still hanging around” and taking victory laps despite coming third in Iowa.
He said he had beaten Joe Biden in “almost every single poll in the last three months”.
“We’re going to have the greatest election success. We’re going to turn this country around,” Trump added.
He also celebrated his win with a post on his social media site, Truth Social: “Haley said she had to WIN in New Hampshire. SHE DIDN’T!!!”
Ms Haley congratulated Mr Trump on his victory, telling a crowd in New Hampshire: “He earned it. And I want to acknowledge that.”
She went on to say: “New Hampshire is first in the nation, it is not last in the nation."
Mr Trump labelled her comments "delusional".
An email sent by the Trump campaign to supporters read: "The race is over!! I just won the New Hampshire primary, and I delivered BACK TO BACK landslide victories."
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The former president's path to victory in New Hampshire appeared clear from the start after his number one rival, Ron DeSantis, dropped out of the race over the weekend.
His last remaining rival in the race, Ms Haley, needed a strong performance to keep her hopes alive but as expected, Mr Trump sailed to victory.
Ms Haley previously insisted she will not quit to pave the way for a Trump Coronation, vowing to carry out even after tonight's defeat.
Mr Trump previously told reporters on Tuesday "I don't care" if Ms haley stays in the race, adding "let her do whatever she wants" - but those close to the former president would have preferred her to drop out so efforts can turn to the November election.
Instead, Mr Trump and his campaign team will have to spend the next three weeks with their focus on the South Carolina primary.
South Carolina is Ms Haley's home state, where she served two terms as governor.
