Donald Trump has, like a boa constrictor, squeezed the life out of the Republican primary cycle. Last night, he swallowed New Hampshire and possibly Nikki Haley too.
Haley did better than many of the late polls suggested. But that’s not saying much. She won 44 per cent of the vote, finishing 12 points behind Trump. She now has the momentum to move on to South Carolina, where she is thirty points behind in polls. But if she couldn’t win here in New Hampshire, where independents can vote in the Republican primary, it seems unlikely she can win anywhere. Or, as one Trump campaign official at his campaign’s election night watch party in Nashua put it: ‘She’s staying in, because she’s a psycho.’
Haley did well in affluent New Hampshire Democrat-leaning districts – Concord, Lebanon and Dover – which reported early. Inevitably, that prompted some excitement that she might dramatically exceed expectations. But she didn’t do enough to overcome the wall of Trumpism elsewhere.
As a publicity genius, Trump must realise that he has sucked the energy of the primary contests
‘This show is far from over,’ said Haley in her defiant concession speech.
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