LIVE. Donald Trump wins Republican primary in New Hampshire | Abroad

Former President Donald Trump has won the Republican primary in the state of New Hampshire. This was announced by the Associated Press news agency, which is usually the first to receive the results.

About ten minutes after the last polling stations closed, the first 18 percent of the votes had already been counted. In that result, Trump was just less than ten percent ahead of his direct competitor, the former governor of South Carolina and US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.

Most polling places in New Hampshire are closing, The New York Times reports. It will take at least until eight o’clock in the evening local time, three o’clock at night in Belgium, before all polling stations are closed.

In any case, the counting of the first votes has already started; At around a quarter past one in the morning Belgian time, Trump and Haley were about evenly matched with three percent of the votes counted.

Donald Trump is confident. NBC News put it to him that some of Nikki Haley voters voted for him in 2020, but say they don’t want to now. “How are you going to unite the party? How are you going to involve them?” a reporter asked. The former president responded: “They’re all going to vote for me again,” he said. “I don’t know if we need too many,” he added. “Because I think Biden is the worst president in the history of this country.”

Trump has 60 percent of the votes, compared to 38 percent for Haley. Trump won another 3 percentage points and seems to benefit from the departure of Ron DeSantis, according to the latest polls from Suffolk University and American media.

DeSantis ended his bid for the White House on Sunday and said he supported Trump. This left Haley as the only challenger to the former president, American media report.

Donald Trump will soon also win the primary election in New Hampshire. With a score that should make his only remaining rival Nikki Haley throw in the towel. If she persists against her better judgment, she will most likely ruin her future career. But by giving up, she misses the opportunity—a great opportunity, but still—to save her country and the world. Our foreign journalist Guy Van Vlierden explains how that could be possible and how devastating her dilemma is (+).

Ron DeSantis marketed himself as a better version of Donald Trump, but without the chaos. It turned out to be Trump without votes. After a humiliating primary election in the American state of Iowa, he throws in the towel. Nikki Haley, last woman standing, is the only one who can stop Trump. All eyes are now on her, as the second Republican primary takes place tomorrow in New Hampshire. But it doesn’t look good for her. Will it really be Trump vs. Biden? (+)

During primaries in the American state of New Hampshire, voters can vote on their favorite to become the official presidential candidate of the Republican Party. Because many candidates have already given up, a conflict has arisen between former President Donald Trump and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.

LOOK. Haley tries to win votes until the last minute.

Primaries give voters the opportunity to decide which candidate will represent a political party in the national presidential elections. These are held in November. Incumbent President Joe Biden (81) will probably become the Democrats’ candidate again. Among Republicans, Trump (77) is seen as the favorite to become a presidential candidate again.

In New Hampshire, 52-year-old Haley in particular is under pressure to achieve a good result. She came third this month in the first Republican primary in Iowa, behind Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis has now stopped his campaign and expressed support for front-runner Trump.

LOOK. Ron DeSantis withdraws from Republican primary and supports Trump

It is expected that voters in New Hampshire will be more favorable to Haley. Republicans in that state are considered relatively moderate and voters without party affiliation are also allowed to vote. The former UN ambassador needs a victory to show that she still has a chance against Trump, who is also leading in the polls in New Hampshire.

New Hampshire, with approximately 1.5 million inhabitants, is traditionally the first state to hold a so-called primary. That’s a different kind of primary than what took place in Iowa. You can also vote for Democratic candidates, but that primary election is not recognized by the national Democratic Party. Biden is therefore not on the ballot.

The Democratic Party wanted to kick off the primaries this year in the state of South Carolina, but administrators in New Hampshire are not cooperating. Democratic candidates were therefore instructed by their party not to participate in that state and the result was declared invalid in advance. Some Democrats are not heeding that call. Voters also have the option to write Biden’s name on the ballot.