Former President Donald Trump took a huge step toward winning a third consecutive Republican presidential nomination Tuesday, winning the New Hampshire primary in a one-on-one matchup with his last challenger standing, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
Haley vowed to remain in the Republican race, saying she’ll now focus on the February 24 primary in her home state of South Carolina.
But she’ll be battling history: In modern presidential campaign history, no non-incumbent has won the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary without going on to win his party’s nomination.
Trump, who took the stage shortly after Haley spoke, seethed over her decision to continue her campaign.
“She had to win,” the former president said. “She failed badly.”
As Haley seeks to prove she remains a viable contender, President Joe Biden began preparations for a general election rematch with Trump — dispatching senior White House staffers to work on his campaign and holding an event in Virginia where he hammered Trump on abortion rights.
Here are five takeaways from the New Hampshire primaries:
In what were expected to be celebratory remarks Tuesday night in New Hampshire, Trump instead sounded annoyed that Haley had not yet dropped out of the Republican primary race.
He mocked Haley, calling her an “imposter” who had “claimed victory” despite doing “very poorly.” (Haley, in fact, had congratulated Trump for his victory at the beginning of her remarks.)
His remarks made plain that Haley’s attacks on Trump’s age, his verbal miscues and Republican losses during his time as the party’s leader have frustrated the former president.
It was a jarring contrast from Trump’s election night remarks eight days ago in Iowa, when he praised his rivals as “very smart people, very capable…
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