Former US President Donald Trump won the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, strengthening his bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, according to projections by the Associated Press and Fox News.
After a landslide victory in the Iowa caucuses, Trump was down to one serious rival, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.
According to the projections, Haley outperformed expectations but was unable to clinch an important victory.
What were the results of the primary?
With 55% of the votes counted, Trump had 53.8%, beating out Haley, who trailed with 44.7% of the vote, according to AP estimates.
Trump will win at least 12 New Hampshire delegates to Haley's 9, with 1 still up for grabs, according to Edison Research's initial projection.
Reports during the day suggested that voter turnout had been high.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden won New Hampshire's largely symbolic Democratic primary, prevailing in an unusual write-in effort after refusing to campaign or appear on the state's ballot.
Biden's reelection campaign said Trump's primary victory in New Hampshire means he will almost certainly become the Republican Party's nominee in 2024 and face Biden on election day.
"Tonight's results confirm Donald Trump has all but locked up the GOP nomination, and the election denying, anti-freedom MAGA movement has completed its takeover of the Republican Party," Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement.
Haley vowed to continue race
In response to Trump's projected victory, Haley congratulated her rival, but then vowed to fight on, saying "this race is far from over."
"The worst kept secret in politics is how badly the Democrats want to run against Donald Trump," she told supporters after Trump was projected to win. "A Trump nomination is a Biden win."
Before the vote on Tuesday, Haley's team said she intends to stay in the race through "Super Tuesday" on March 5, when voters in 16 states will cast ballots for their party's candidate.
Haley is seeking to hang on long enough to make it to the February 24 primary vote in her home state of South Carolina, where she served as governor (2011-2017) and sees a home-state advantage.
"After Super Tuesday," read a campaign memo, "we will have a very good picture of where this race stands. At that point, millions of Americans in 26 states and territories will have voted."
