Nikki Haley has the Republican primary election in the American capital Washington on Sunday won, Edison Research and CNN report. It is Haley’s first victory against former President Donald Trump in the nomination process that started in January. She received 62.9 percent of the votes, compared to 33.2 percent for Trump.
Her victory in Washington was already expected and is mainly of symbolic importance, because according to polls the chance that she will beat Trump again elsewhere is minimal. With her win on Sunday, Haley now has 19 delegates behind her. It takes 1,125 to win the Republican nomination.
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Relatively many highly educated people live in fully urban Washington, while Trump scores particularly well in rural areas where the education level is lower. There are also many federal employees working in the capital, who are in danger of being laid off en masse if Trump fulfills his promise to “drain the swamp.” During the 2016 primary election in Washington, he received only 14 percent of the votes and, just like now, he did not get any delegates behind him.
This week may be decisive for the battle between Trump and Haley, with ‘Super Tuesday’ on Tuesday when nine states are allowed to vote. Haley said this weekend an interview with NBC News to stay in the race as long as it is “competitive.” “As long as we can show that there is a place for us, I will keep fighting.”