Republican candidate Nikki Haley wins her first primary against Donald Trump in Washington

A first symbolic victory. Candidate Nikki Haley, Donald Trump’s only competitor in the Republican primaries, won the primary in Washington on Sunday March 3. The former UN ambassador under the Trump administration between 2017 and 2021 obtained 63% of the votes during this primary which took place in a hotel in the center of the city, according to Politicowhich cites party officials in Washington.

CNN, which was among the media outlets announcing Nikki Haley’s victory on Sunday, estimated their number at only 22,000.

This success in the federal capital comes two days before “Super Tuesday”, an important date in the calendar of presidential primaries, during which American voters are called to vote in 15 states.

Note, however, that the vast majority of Washington DC residents are Democrats and that the city has only a small number of registered Republicans. During the 2020 presidential election against Donald Trump, Democratic candidate Joe Biden obtained 92% of the vote in Washington. The city has never voted overwhelmingly for a Republican presidential candidate. In a statement, Nikki Haley’s campaign team said that“it is not surprising that the Republicans closest to the dysfunctions of Washington reject Donald Trump and all his chaos”.