The candidate for the nomination in the Republican Party Nikki Haley He has achieved his first victory in the primaries against the great favorite to become a candidate, Donald Trump. It is a victory that is not particularly important in terms of numbers, only 19 of the 1,215 delegates necessary to win the race were distributed, but with a certain symbolism. First, because it is in the District of Columbia, that is, in Washington DC, headquarters of the White House. And second, because it comes just a couple of days after the famous super tuesdayin which a large number of delegates are distributed and which is usually the night in which the spotlights point to the final winner.
Haley, who until now had not been able to defeat Trump in any of the primaries or caucuses so far, not even in the state of South Carolina where she was governor, thus scores her first victory. Until now she had made it clear that she did not plan to abandon the race at least until the aforementioned super tuesdaywhich he will now reach with this momentum but, in reality, without great options for a comeback against the former president.
Haley has achieved 63 percent of the votes and 19 delegates compared to former President Donald Trump's 33 percent in an election in which only about 2,000 Republicans have voted.
According to experts, Columbia was Haley's best option to win a primary election because of the federal district's strong tendency to support progressive candidates in presidential elections, where a Republican candidate has never won.
Haley, who until now had lost against Trump in the previous votes, had defended her permanence in the electoral race because “only a handful of states have been seen voting.”
Despite his defeat, the former president is increasingly closer to achieving the Republican nomination, as he is the favorite in the majority of states, although 'Super Tuesday' on March 5 will be key, when 800 delegates in 16 states are decided. . The goal is to reach 1,215 delegates to mathematically secure the nomination. At the moment, Trump has 247 compared to Haley's 43.