Trump wins New Hampshire primary, calls Nikki Haley an 'imposter'
Former President Donald Trump has won the New Hampshire primary, winning his second of two state-level contests thus far to seek the presidential nomination of the Republican Party.
The Associated Press called the Republican primary race around 8 p.m. Eastern with less than 20% of the vote counted, when Trump had 54.3% of the vote, while former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley received 44.7%.
In the Democratic primary, President Joe Biden did not appear on the ballot due to party disagreements over the timing of the New Hampshire primary in relation to South Carolina's state race.
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Although voters had to write in Biden to vote for him, the AP called the race for the incumbent commander-in-chief with less than 30% of the vote counted.
During his speech on Tuesday evening, Trump called Haley an "imposter" for acting like she won the race, and said that Biden was "crooked" and mentally unable "to put two sentences together."
"This is an evening I will not forget," Trump added. "We're going to have the greatest election success, we're going to turn our country around."
In remarks made after the race was called for Trump, Haley congratulated him on his victory but told supporters that "this race is far from over" and that "there are dozens of states left to go."
Last December, Haley received the endorsement of New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who was known to be opposed to Trump and had considered running for president.
Betsy Ankney, campaign manager for Haley, said in a memo sent out on Tuesday before the results were counted that, even if she lost in New Hampshire, Haley would not concede just yet.
"Roughly 50 percent of Republican primary voters want an alternative to Donald Trump. Seventy-five percent of the country wants an option other than Donald Trump and Joe Biden," Ankney stated.
"And while members of Congress, the press, and many of the weak-kneed fellas who ran for president are giving up and giving in — we aren't going anywhere."
Ankney contends Haley "is the last hope to get our party and our country back on track" and expressed optimism about the candidate's chances in the South Carolina primary on Feb. 24.
"South Carolina elected Nikki as Governor twice, against the odds," Ankney added. "The people of South Carolina KNOW Nikki's strong conservative record because they lived it."
Last week, Trump won the Iowa caucus, the first state-level contest among Republican candidates, with 51% of the vote, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis got around 21% of the vote, and Haley placed third with about 19% of the vote.
Shortly after the caucus results were made public, businessman and presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy announced that he was suspending his campaign and endorsing Trump.
On Sunday, DeSantis followed suit, posting a video on social media in which he suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump while also expressing opposition to Haley.
"He has my endorsement because we can't go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear, or repackage form of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents," DeSantis said.
