New Hampshire, a state in the northeast of the country with
a moderate and independent electorate
and high rates of college graduates, was former Governor Nikki Haley's
last great chance
to stop Donald Trump's race to the White House.
If there was a state to give a change of direction in the Republican internal race, which is visibly on track in favor of the magnate, it was this one.
But it didn't happen.
With nearly 90% of the votes counted, Trump's margin of victory on Wednesday morning was around 11 percentage points against Haley.
Here are some keys to the results and
a red alert flag for Trump.
Road to nomination
It was not a knockout blow, but
the nomination is practically defined
The margin of victory
was smaller
than what Trump expected and the 18 points that the polls predicted.
But Trump
decisively won
on Tuesday by 54.7% to 43.2%, his only remaining competition.
And he did it supported by his old rivals, who over the past week withdrew or supported him.
No Republican candidate has ever won the first two states and then lost the presidential nomination.
Photo: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP
No Republican candidate
has ever won the first two states and then lost the presidential nomination, a fact that Trump himself noted in his victory speech on Tuesday night, also recalling his initial victory in Iowa.
The one who surprisingly
ended the Republican primaries
was President Joe Biden.
Hours after the elections closed, he said in a statement that “it is now clear that Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee and the message to the country is that what is at stake could not be more important.
“Our democracy, our personal freedoms,” Biden said, already in campaign mode.
Haley continues the fight, but the race is difficult
Despite everything, the race for the nomination continues because the former governor of South Carolina and former ambassador to the United Nations
said that she is not giving up
and that she will continue at least until her state's primaries, on February 24, although in his district Trump is also leading in the polls, as
in most of the country.
Haley stubbornly continues to fight for survival.
Photo: Joseph Prezioso / AFP
Haley stubbornly continues to fight to survive, although her path seems
extremely complicated
.
She will not compete in Nevada to focus on South Carolina, where party heavyweights support Trump, who leads the polls there
by up to 50 points
.
Strategists leading Trump's campaign, Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, predicted that Haley would be "demolished and embarrassed" in South Carolina if she did not drop out of the race before then.
Haley's argument to continue is that “with Trump the Republicans lost almost every election,” referring to the
2018 and 2022 legislative
elections and
the 2020 presidential elections
.
And that the Democrats prefer to compete against the magnate.
At 52 years old, she also says that she needs
“a new generation” in the White House
.
Trump is 77 years old and Biden is 81.
Trump wants Haley out now.
The former president wants the nomination right now because
he doesn't want to spend more time and money.
He needs Haley to get off to focus now on
the battles that are coming
: one against Joe Biden for the presidency and the other in the courts to
settle her accounts with justice
.
The former president wants the nomination right now because he doesn't want to spend more time and money.
Photo: Reuters
In fact, on the day of Nevada's next elections, February 8, the Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments on
whether the 14th Amendment should remove it from the ballot
.
Criminal cases also loom pending in New York, Georgia, Florida and Michigan on charges ranging from tax fraud to obstruction of justice to impede the results of the 2020 election.
While Trump's supporters consider the trials against their leader
a "witch hunt"
and a "conspiracy by Democrats and the judiciary,"
a conviction could hurt him
among moderates and independents.
Some warning signs for Trump
Exit polls this Tuesday revealed
some red flags
for the former president's campaign.
Haley won 29% of the party's moderate vote.
44% said Trump cannot be president if he is convicted of a crime
.
It was also massively supported by abortion supporters (69%), while Trump is in favor of its ban.
44% said Trump cannot be president if he is convicted of a crime.
Photo: Reuters
Abortion
will be a central issue
in the Democratic campaign.
Haley also won 79% of the votes of those who said Biden legitimately won the 2020 election, showing that there is a good portion of Republican voters who believe Trump is
lying about fraud.
All this indicates that, although Trump can sweep the internal elections,
he will have some difficulties in attracting the most moderate vote
, which is vital to winning the general election on November 5.
For now, Biden and Trump
are tied in the polls,
but the vote of the portion of independents and Republicans who do not feel comfortable with the magnate
will be decisive.
Biden won his own election in New Hampshire
The Democratic primaries were also held in New Hampshire, but without ballots with Biden's name due to disagreements with the local branch of the party.
Although the president has his party's nomination assured, in recent days the president's militants called for Biden's name to be written by hand on the ballots, because it would have been a blow if he lost in that state against unknown candidates such as Representative Dean Phillips and the writer Marianne Williamson.
Finally
Biden won by more than 60% of the votes.