Nikki Haley Wins Vermont Republican Primary

Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley speaks at her rally in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 4, 2024. Emil Lippe/Getty Images

Former South Carolina Gov. and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley won the Vermont GOP presidential primary in what was a tough night for her campaign on March 5.

She won with 50 percent of the vote over former President Donald Trump. The Republican frontrunner garnered nearly 46 percent of the vote.

This was Ms. Haley’s second primary victory after winning the District of Columbia earlier this week, lifting her total delegate count to 78.

President Trump has more than 900 delegates in his arsenal.

GOP candidates need 1,215 delegates to secure the nomination.

Ms. Haley is in South Carolina “in the Charleston area and will be watching returns with staff, who are happy warriors tonight. The mood is jubilant. There is lots of food and music as staff wraps up GOTV efforts,” according to her campaign.

The mood may not be upbeat anymore as President Trump dominated Super Tuesday, winning all but The Green Mountain State.

Speaking from Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, after racking up multiple victories, the Republican frontrunner did not mention Ms. Haley’s name once in his remarks, as he focused on railing against President Joe Biden and his administration’s record on everything from the border to foreign policy.

“He is the worst president in the history of our country,” the GOP frontrunner told a raucous crowd of supporters. “Nov. 5 is going to go down as the single most important day in our history. Right now, our country is known as a joke.”

Top Republicans Say It’s Over

With the billionaire real estate mogul notching multiple victories on the biggest night of the primary season, many Republicans reiterated the position that the race is over, and it is time to rally around President Trump to defeat the incumbent.

“Admit it. The primary is over. Time for Republicans to unite and restore sanity at the border,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement posted on X.

Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) took to X to say that “Weekend at Bernie’s in the White House must come to an end.”

“Republican voters have spoken, and Donald Trump will be our nominee for President,” Mr. Ricketts said. “It’s time for Republicans to rally around our party and Donald Trump to beat Joe Biden in November.”

“It’s clear everybody knows the general election starts now,” Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller told NBC News earlier in the evening.

The next contest will be the American Samoa caucus on March 8, which will have nine delegates up for grabs. This will be followed by primaries in Georgia (59 delegates), Hawaii (19 delegates), Mississippi (40 delegates), and Washington (43 delegates).

Exit poll results from California, North Carolina, and Virginia show that the economy and immigration are the top issues for voters. They also continue to highlight that Trump still appeals to self-identified conservatives, evangelicals, and non-college-educated individuals.

Democrats in Vermont

Conversely, President Biden won the Vermont Democratic primary with roughly 89 percent of the vote. Author Marianne Williamson and Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) saw 4.6 percent and 3.1 percent support, respectively.

After largely sweeping the Democratic primaries, President Biden said that millions of Americans have shown “they are ready to fight back against Donald Trump’s extreme plan to take us backwards.”

“Trump is driven by grievance and grift, focused on his own revenge and retribution, not the American people,” Biden said in a statement. “He is determined to destroy our democracy, rip away fundamental freedoms like the ability for women to make their own health care decisions, and pass another round of billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy—and he’ll do or say anything to put himself in power.”

Vice President Kamala Harris called the Super Tuesday results “an energizing moment for our campaign.”

“This week’s events will serve as a springboard for the next critical phase of the campaign,” Ms. Harris said in a statement. “The president and I know reelection must be earned, and we will continue to put in the work to reach every possible voter. Winning the fight to protect our fundamental freedoms will require nothing less.”

President Biden fell short of a sweep on Super Tuesday as he lost the American Samoa presidential caucuses to entrepreneur Jason Palmer.

Rematch

Various polls suggest a Trump-Biden rematch in the general election would be close, with the Real Clear Politics average giving the Republican a two-point advantage over his opponent.

The latest Morning Consult poll had the incumbent maintaining a one-point lead over his potential 2024 rival. But a CBS News survey reported the former president enjoying a four-point lead in a head-to-head matchup.