Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley won her first race for the Republican presidential nomination Sunday, winning the Washington, D.C., primary and NBC News projects. Her campaign hopes the win will generate momentum heading into next week's Super Tuesday.
Haley, who defeated former President Donald Trump in the district primary, has been vowing to remain in the race for several weeks until Super Tuesday, when candidates are contested in 15 states and American Samoa. Most polls show Trump leading in nearly all of these states, and he is expected to widen his lead in delegates.
Haley took 63% of the Republican primary vote to Trump's 33%. Just over 2,000 D.C. Republicans voted. Haley received more than half of the votes, giving her the district's 19 delegates.
Many of Washington's moderate Republicans are in politics and government circles, and are far removed from earlier states like South Carolina and Iowa, which set up the scenario in which Haley had her first legitimate chance to win. It is seen as different. Trump received just 14% of the vote in the 2016 Washington primary.
Voter turnout expectations were also low, with a close margin expected, opening the door to a different scenario than in other previous contests.
“It could be between 2,000 and 6,000 voters,” district Republican Party Chairman Patrick Mara predicted in an interview with NBC News last week. “So, frankly, anyone has a chance to win here. It depends on turnout and campaign efforts.”
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio won the 2016 Republican primary by about 2,800 votes. Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, the party's nominee in 2012, won that year's race with 5,200 votes, and in 2008 cast about 6,200 votes to ultimately become the Republican nominee. John McCain won.
Mara said Haley and the Trump campaign are sending text messages and making phone calls and some volunteers are going door-to-door to increase turnout ahead of the primary.
The primary was run by the local Republican Party rather than by the state as is common in other nominating contests, and there was only one polling place at the Madison Hotel.
“It's run by the party and it's a different experience and we're paying for it,” he said. “So Washington Republicans needed an incentive to come to a hotel in downtown D.C. to vote.”
He said there was a perception that Trump's dominance in early primary states and the Republican nominating process were also contributing to the low turnout.
“The average Washington Republican is politically astute, media savvy, and has seen the coverage telling the public that the race is over,” Mara said.
