Here Are 5 Takeaways From Donald Trump’s Win at the New Hampshire GOP Primaries
New Hampshire GOP Primaries Saw Trump Winning Easily
Just one week after winning Iowa's crucial caucus, former president Donald Trump defeated Nikki Haley in the primary in New Hampshire. Despite Haley's improved performance in the Granite State over her performance in Iowa, Trump still won by around 10 points. The GOP primary has now become a head-to-head match between the two candidates running for the presidential nomination, with front-runner Donald Trump virtually guaranteed to win. In the meantime, Democrat President Biden easily defeated opponents from his party in the state's Democratic primary as a write-in candidate. Here are five important conclusions from the New Hampshire primaries:
1. Trump is almost certainly the GOP nominee
Trump is now virtually guaranteed to be the Republican nominee for president after his commanding victory in New Hampshire. As anticipated by many, Trump's double-digit triumph matched his earlier success in Iowa. Notably, Republicans such as Senator Tim Scott and previous candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, initially opposers of Trump, have now publicly endorsed him, indicating that the Republican Party was becoming more united and that Trump needed their support to beat President Biden. “I have seen enough. To beat Biden, Republicans need to unite around a single candidate, and it’s clear that President Trump is Republican voters’ choice,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Four more years of failed domestic policies like the Biden Border Crisis and record-high inflation, and failed foreign policies that have emboldened our adversaries and made the world a more dangerous place, must be stopped,” he added.
2. Trump's face-off with Biden is probable since he won Democratic primaries through write-ins
With a write-in campaign, President Biden won New Hampshire despite not being on the ballot. Biden's victory demonstrated his power within the Democratic base, despite his poor popularity ratings. The write-in success positioned Biden as a dangerous opponent for Trump in the next general election, laying the stage for a rematch between the two political heavyweights. As predictions poured in, the Biden campaign proclaimed in a public statement, “While we work toward November 2024, one thing is increasingly clear today: Donald Trump is headed straight into a general election matchup where he’ll face the only person to have ever beaten him at the ballot box: Joe Biden.”
3. Trump dealt a severe blow to Haley
In New Hampshire, Nikki Haley was not able to get enough support from Republicans and independents. Haley received a lot of support, especially from Governor Chris Sununu, but her defeat now has started to cast questions on her ability to win the campaign. Haley's chances of winning the nomination get harder as attention shifts to South Carolina, where Trump continues to lead by a wide margin. Nevertheless, Haley declared that "the next one is my sweet state of South Carolina" in an address to her supporters, indicating that she wasn't quitting the GOP presidential race just yet. However, polling indicates that in her home state, the former UN ambassador is severely lagging behind Trump. According to a Decision Desk HQ and The Hill polling average of surveys conducted in South Carolina, Trump is at 61% and Haley is at 27%.
4. Trump's win means the GOP deals with a serious divide
Trump's triumph in New Hampshire demonstrated his power, but it also revealed differences within the Republican Party. Exit polls showed that Haley and Trump courted quite different types of voters. CNN's latest survey revealed that 81% of Trump's supporters thought President Biden did not rightfully win the 2020 election, while only 17% agreed. On the other hand, 83 percent of Haley's followers believed that Biden had won the 2020 election legally, while only 15 percent disagreed. While Trump is probably going to win over a lot of Haley's supporters in the end if he is selected as the GOP presidential nominee, the divisions shown in the GOP primary indicate that there may be a segment of the electorate that finds it difficult to unite behind Trump.
5. Trump's win means the primary season is probably going to be short
With victories in Iowa and New Hampshire back-to-back, Trump seems certain to secure the Republican nominee. Haley's team boasted that it "got close to half the vote," but it's unclear if it would be sufficient to demonstrate her competitiveness for the nomination and to support her campaign in the South Carolina primary and beyond. With Trump positioned as the front-runner, the GOP season might conclude in a matter of weeks when the primary season moves to South Carolina.
