With her win, Haley scripted history by becoming the first woman ever to win
a Republican presidential primary
Washington, March 4: Indian-American presidential candidate Nikki Haley has won her first Republican nominating contest by trumping rival Donald Trump in Washington DC, injecting new life into her 2024 campaign ahead of the crucial Super Tuesday contest.
With her win, Haley scripted history by becoming the first woman ever to win a Republican presidential primary. She is also the first Indian-American to have won either the Democratic or the Republican primaries.
The three other previous Indian American presidential aspirants – Bobby Jindal in 2016, Kamala Harris in 2020 and Vivek Ramaswamy in 2024 – had failed to win even one primary.
Haley, 51, received 1,274 votes (62.9 per cent) against 676 votes (33.2 per cent) received by her main rival and former President Trump. Haley will receive all 19 Republican delegates who were up for grabs in Washington DC, giving her 43 delegates nationwide – well behind Trump’s 247. The contest took place over the weekend in downtown hotel just steps away from the heart of DC’s lobbying hub. “Let’s do it. Thank you, DC! We fight for every inch,” Haley posted on X soon after her victory.
“Republicans closest to Washington’s dysfunction know that Donald Trump has brought nothing but chaos and division for the past 8 years. It’s time to start winning again and move our nation forward!” she wrote in another post.
Haley, the former US envoy to the UN under the Trump administration, lost in South Carolina, her home state last month. But she is the first woman to win a Republican primary in US history.
The former South Carolina governor’s victory came after she was crushed by Trump in caucuses in Missouri and Idaho and at a Republican convention in Michigan on Saturday.
“It’s not surprising that Republicans closest to Washington dysfunction are rejecting Donald Trump and all his chaos,” Haley’s campaign national spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas said.
However, the Trump campaign said the results showed that Haley is being crowned “Queen of the Swamp.” “Tonight’s results in Washington DC reaffirm the object of President Trump’s campaign – he will drain the swamp and put America first,” said Karoline Leavitt, Trump Campaign’s Press Secretary.
Haley’s victory, though a first, did not come as a major surprise. Many in Washington believed the District represented her best, and perhaps only, chance to win a primary. (PTI)