President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump won the New Hampshire primary Tuesday night. Despite losing, GOP hopeful Nikki Haley says she will continue on. Now, all eyes are on South Carolina.
All is quiet now in New Hampshire, as the presidential candidates who spent recent months stumping here have moved on to South Carolina now that the Granite State's first-in-the-nation primary is over.
And despite a loss on Tuesday night, GOP hopeful Nikki Haley says she will continue on.
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Haley told her supporters on Tuesday night that the race is far from over. She spoke in Concord not long after the race was called for former President Donald Trump.
Haley received 43% of the vote, better than some of the polls predicted but still not enough to catch Trump at 55%.
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Some New Hampshire voters are now wondering whether the former United Nations ambassador will bow out of the GOP presidential race sooner than later.
"Maybe Trump's got the whole thing wrapped up," said Republican New Hampshire voter Bob Lafauci.
"I think she's got a chance, but I don't know — tough to tell, he's determined," said Arthur Tournidis.
Haley's next chance to go head-to-head with Trump is in her home state of South Carolina, where she was governor for six years. But voters are mixed over whether that match up will work in her favor.
"Maybe at home, in South Carolina, but I don't know. It's hard to say," said Tournidis.
"When she loses in South Carolina, it's going to be a big disappointment to her. She was the governor down there for two terms, but Trump has South Carolina's votes," said Lionel Tremblay.
Some voters point out the margin between Haley and Trump was smaller than polling predicted in New Hampshire.
Kevin Martignetti, a Democratic New Hampshire voter said, "Haley, in another state, she might have a shot."
"It's difficult for her. It would be, like I said, anything could happen," said Lafauci.
Some voters said they don't want Haley to drop out because then primary season would essentially be over.
Meanwhile, Trump is the first non-incumbent to win both Iowa and New Hampshire. No Republican has won both and failed to secure the party's nomination.
"If you win both, you've never had a loser, let's put it that way," Trump said in his victory speech Tuesday night. "When you win in Iowa and you win New Hampshire, they never had losses. We're not gonna be the first, I can tell you."
Trump's New Hampshire victory speech
But Haley disagreed, saying Trump is the wrong candidate to lead the party.
"With Donald Trump, Republicans have lost almost every competitive election," she said. "We lost the Senate, we lost the House... and the worst kept secret in politics is how badly the Democrats want to run against Donald Trump."
Watch Haley's speech
New Hampshire Democratic primary results
On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden won easily, with 66.8% of the vote, despite not appearing on the ballot and not campaigning in the state. Democrats in New Hampshire ran a write-in campaign, helping to propel him to victory.
In a statement, Biden thanked those who wrote in his name for the Democratic primary and appealed to independent and Republican voters who reject Trump to support his campaign.
“My message to the country is the stakes could not be higher," Biden said. "Our Democracy. Our personal freedoms — from the right to choose to the right to vote. Our economy — which has seen the strongest recovery in the world since COVID. All are at stake.”
What's next?
So what's next? Nevada. That state will host its primary on Feb. 6, and party run caucuses on Feb. 8. But Haley is only on the ballot in the primary, and Trump is only on the ballot in the caucuses.
The next big showdown between Trump and Haley will be Feb. 24, in Haley's home state of South Carolina. Three days later is the Michigan primary, and then Super Tuesday on March 5. If Haley is still in the race at that point, we'll have a better idea of how the general election will shape up.
