WASHINGTON — Nikki Haley received a needed boost in her quest for the Republican presidential nomination on Sunday, winning the District of Columbia primary.
The Associated Press reported that Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, would win her first primary of the 2024 campaign, defeating front-runner Donald Trump.
The news organization declared Haley the winner after D.C. Republican Party officials released the results.
Nikki Haley wins D.C. primary, her first victory in GOP nominating race https://t.co/9vRwZ4dNrR
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 4, 2024
Nineteen delegates were at stake in the primary, The New York Times reported.
Haley won all of them, according to the AP, nearly doubling her delegate total. She has 43 total, compared to Trump’s 244.
Haley had been favored to win in the nation’s capital heading into Super Tuesday, when largest chunk of delegates will be awarded -- 874 delegates across 15 states and one territory will be at stake, according to The Washington Post.
“It’s not surprising that Republicans closest to Washington dysfunction are rejecting Donald Trump and all his chaos,” Haley spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas said in a statement, adding that the candidate was the first woman to win a Republican presidential primary.
With 2,429 total delegates available, a candidate must win at least 1,215 to secure the nomination, the newspaper reported.
“Tonight’s results in Washington D.C. reaffirm the object of President Trump’s campaign -- he will drain the swamp and put America first,” Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “The swamp has claimed their queen.”
North Dakota, with 29 delegates, will hold its primary on Monday, The Associated Press reported.
The polls in the District of Columbia closed after three days of voting for Republicans, according to the Post. Balloting took place at the Madison Hotel in the northwest section of the city and required voters to come in person, WTOP Radio reported. There was no voting by mail allowed.
The Democratic presidential primary in the District of Columbia will be held on June 4.
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