Barely 20 minutes after the polls closed in New Hampshire on Tuesday and the major networks began projecting Donald Trump the winner of the Granite State's GOP presidential primary (and thus the first Republican in history to win both the Iowa caucuses and the first-in-the-nation primary), opponent Nikki Haley left no doubt she would continue the race in "my sweet state of South Carolina."
"The fight is not over," declared the former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador before cheering supporters in Concord, New Hampshire.
But, with Trump rolling up a handsome (55% to 43%) win in New Hampshire, Haley's path to the nomination seems more difficult.
She will compete against Trump in the Nevada primary Feb, 6. But where Haley will be the lone Republican in the primary, she will not compete against Trump in the caucus that actually selects delegates two days later. The state legislature voted to hold a primary, but GOP party leaders preferred their traditional means of choosing delegates by caucus — in which Trump will be the lone contender.
By far the most watched Trump-Haley contest will be in South Carolina Feb. 24. Haley's ties to her home state notwithstanding, the most recent Emerson College poll of likely GOP primary voters showed Trump clobbering Haley by 54% to 25% there. At a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Saturday, Trump flexed his considerable South Carolina muscle by being flanked by the state's Gov. Henry McMaster (who assumed the statehouse in 2017 when Trump named then-Gov. Haley to the U.N. post), three other statewide officials, the speaker of the state House, and three U.S. Representatives.
Although many cheered on Haley's defiant vow to continue fighting, others were not pleased. New Hampshire State GOP Chair Chris Ager told Newsmax "I was neutral in the primary and will remain neutral until we have a presumptive nominee. If President Trump wins our primary in the end by double digits, I would say that Gov. Haley should reassess her plans."
Trump won New Hampshire 54.5% to 43.2% with 91% of votes counted, over Haley.
She also sounded very unlikely to reassess her plans.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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