Nikki Haley beats Donald Trump in Washington DC for first primary victory
Washington, Mar 4: Indian-American presidential candidate Nikki Haley has won her first Republican nominating contest by defeating rival Donald Trump in Washington DC, injecting new life into her campaign ahead of the crucial Super Tuesday contest.
Haley, 51, received 1,274 votes (62.9 per cent) against 676 votes (33.2 per cent) received by her main rival and former President Trump.
Haley will receive all 19 Republican delegates who were up for grabs in Washington DC, giving her 43 delegates nationwide - well behind Trump's 247.
The contest took place over the weekend in a downtown hotel just steps away from the heart of DC's lobbying hub.
With this, Haley has created history by becoming the first woman ever to win a Republican presidential primary. She is also the first Indian-American to have won either the Democratic or the Republican primaries. The three other previous Indian
American presidential aspirants Bobby Jindal in 2016, Kamala Harris in 2020 and Vivek Ramaswamy in 2024 had failed to win even one primary.
Haley, the former US envoy to the UN, lost in South Carolina, her home state. But she is the first woman to win a Republican primary in US history.
The former South Carolina governor's victory came after she was crushed by Trump in caucuses in Missouri and Idaho and at a Republican convention in Michigan on Saturday.
"It's not surprising that Republicans closest to Washington dysfunction are rejecting Donald Trump and all his chaos," Haley's campaign national spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas said.
However, the Trump campaign said the results showed that Haley is being crowned "Queen of the Swamp."
"Tonight's results in Washington DC reaffirm the object of President Trump's campaign he will drain the swamp and put America first," said Karoline Leavitt, Trump Campaign's Press Secretary.
"While Nikki has been soundly rejected throughout the rest of America, she was just crowned Queen of the Swamp by the lobbyists and DC insiders who want to protect the failed status quo. The swamp has claimed their queen," she said.
"Trump will fight for every American who is being let down by these very DC insiders and devastated by Joe Biden's failures," Leavitt said.
Trump, 77, is likely to face 81-year-old incumbent US President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the November 5 election.
Trump has dominated every other early nominating contest and is poised to rack up more delegates on Super Tuesday on March 5.
Haley has for weeks pledged to stay in the race through Super Tuesday when 15 states and American Samoa will hold nominating contests.
Super Tuesday is an important new phase of presidential primaries when the early contests are over and voters from multiple states cast ballots in primaries timed to occur on the same date.
Primaries on Tuesday may offer the final opportunity for Haley's quixotic and lacklustre effort to challenge Trump for the Republican presidential nomination.
Haley's victory, though a first, did not come as a major surprise. Many in Washington believed the District represented her best, and perhaps only, chance to win a primary.
Trump's hold on the capital's Republicans, which counts roughly 22,000 registered voters, has never quite reflected his dominance across the country. Trump won the primary in 2020, running uncontested, but finished third in the 2016 cycle, CNN reported.
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RCB beat MI by 18 runs after batters fire
Mumbai (PTI): Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar, Phil Salt and Virat Kohli blasted half-centuries as the defending champions beat Mumbai Indians by 18 runs in an Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.
Salt (78 off 36 balls) and Kohli (50 off 38 balls) stitched together a 120-run stand for the opening wicket before Patidar scored a rapid 53 off just 20 balls as RCB posted 240 for 4.
In response, Mumbai Indians were restricted to 222 for 5, with RCB spinner Suyash Sharma (2/47) putting the skids on the home side with a double strike in the eighth over, from which they could not recover.
Sherfane Rutherford top-scored for MI with an unbeaten 71 off 31 balls.
While opener Rohit Sharma appeared to be struggling with a hamstring issue and had to retire hurt on 19, his partner Ryan Rickelton made 37, while Suryakumar Yadav (33) and Hardik Pandya (40) were the other contributors for MI.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 240 for 4 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 78, Virat Kohli 50, Rajat Patidar 53, Tim David 35 not out).
Mumbai Indians: 222 for 5 in 20 overs (Sherfane Rutherford 71 not out, Ryan Rickelton 37, Hardik Pandya 40; Suyash Sharma 2/47).
