In an impressive display of support, Former President Donald Trump emerged victorious over his former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley on Super Tuesday, securing the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in all states except Vermont.
On Tuesday, primaries were held in fifteen states across the country, making up more than a third of the total GOP primary delegate count. The delegate allocation varied from state to state, with some awarding all delegates to the winner, while others tied it to county or other performance metrics. By the end of the night, Trump appeared to be winning almost all of the delegates, maintaining a strong pace.
In a surprising turn of events on Super Tuesday, the Republican former president fell short against Haley in Vermont. This loss resulted in a significant gain for Haley and her campaign, adding 17 delegates to her current total.
Haley’s campaign highlighted the fact that, despite Trump’s near sweep, a portion of GOP primary votes continues to oppose the former president as he approaches an almost-certain nomination.
According to a statement from Olivia Perez-Cubas, national spokesperson for Haley, claiming unity is not enough to achieve it. She pointed out that in various states, many Republican primary voters still have significant concerns about Donald Trump. Perez-Cubas emphasized that this lack of unity within the party is not conducive to its success.
Utah is still undecided at this point, but apart from Vermont, Trump emerged victorious in every other contest on Tuesday, including the crucial state of California. As it stands, Trump has secured 1017 delegates, while Haley has managed to gather only 92.
Trump has not yet secured enough GOP delegates to become the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party ahead of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. However, Haley still has a chance to win the nomination if she can consistently outperform Trump in state after state, surpassing expectations.
Haley has only been able to secure victory in two GOP primaries, which took place in Washington and Vermont. However, despite securing endorsements from senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, she was unable to win in Alaska and Maine against Trump on Tuesday.
According to a report by Business Insider in December 2023, it has been observed that Trump has consistently held an advantage in securing the party’s nomination following modifications made to delegate allocation rules by state party leaders.
Haley mentioned at the end of January that she was unable to anticipate the future plans of her campaign following Super Tuesday.
Haley expressed her determination to continue in the race as long as she sees growth in each state. She emphasized her intention to participate in Super Tuesday and indicated that she will assess her progress after that. Haley believes in taking it one state at a time and not looking too far ahead.
Although Haley emerged victorious in Vermont, she chose not to deliver a speech on Tuesday evening. In contrast, Trump addressed the audience from Mar-a-Lago without uttering her name even once.
