Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has defeated former US President Donald Trump in Washington DC in the Republican primary according to The Hill projections on Monday.
Haley garnered 1,274 votes to former President Trump's 676 with all precincts reporting, according to the US-based news daily. This is her first victory over the former president in the 2024 campaign to become the Republican presidential candidate.
The contest took place in a downtown hotel just steps away from the heart of Washington DC's lobbying hub over the weekend.
According to Republican party officials, Haley carried nearly 63 per cent of the vote, Politico reported.
Nikki Haley's win in Washington, DC Republican primary came after Trump defeated her in caucuses in Missouri and Idaho and at a Republican convention in Michigan on Saturday. Trump is moving towards the GOP nomination and is favoured to secure win in primaries across 16 Super Tuesday states this week.
The GOP electorate in DC, where Republicans constitute just 5 per cent of registered voters is hardly representative of the conservative base found in majority of the other parts of the US, according to Politico report.
Patrick Mara, chair of the DC Republican Party, said, "This universe is a little more sophisticated than just about any universe in any other state." He further said, "I listen to the political podcasts in the morning. I read the newsletters throughout the day. That's probably, like, half the people showing up at this."
Dan Schuberth, who runs a trade association in downtown DC and backed Haley in the primary called his fellow DC Republicans as "a pretty unique electorate," perhaps the only in the nation where many several voters personally know the people working on one or both of the campaigns.
Voting for the Washington, DC Republican primary took place at the Madison Hotel over three days. On Friday, Haley held a campaign rally there, according to Politico report.
As per the news report, Trump's prospects to win the DC GOP primary were not high as he was at third spot behind Marco Rubio and John Kasich during the contest in 2016.
All eyes now lie on 16 states that will cast ballots on March 5 which is Super Tuesday. These states are – Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa (caucus), Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia. Furthermore, American Samoa is also scheduled to hold a nominating contest on March 5.
The Democratic primary in DC will take place in June.
(ANI)