Nikki Haley’s decision to suspend her presidential campaign came with a surprising twist in Pennsylvania. Not only did she refrain from endorsing Donald Trump, the last major candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination, but it seems that some of her supporters in the state shared the same sentiment.
In the Pennsylvania primary, Haley secured nearly 17% of the vote, equivalent to 1 in 6 votes. This impressive result was achieved even though she had withdrawn from the presidential race back in March and had not actively campaigned since then. Trump, on the other hand, dominated the primary with 83% of the vote.
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If Haley GOP voters in Pennsylvania refuse to support Trump in November, it could have a detrimental impact on his chances of winning the state’s 19 electoral votes. This, in turn, could potentially harm his prospects for re-election. Pennsylvania is a crucial battleground state in the presidential election, making the support of these voters all the more important for Trump’s campaign.
Haley’s support base lacked the necessary size to pose a significant challenge to Trump prior to him securing his third consecutive Republican presidential nomination.
In Pennsylvania’s primary, the former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor received over 156,000 votes, which is approximately double the margin by which Democrat Joe Biden defeated Trump in Pennsylvania in 2020. The 2016 election in Pennsylvania was even more closely contested, with Trump winning by a margin of 44,000 votes over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Haley received a higher percentage of votes from urban and suburban areas, where Trump faced significant setbacks in his previous presidential campaigns.
U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota garnered a significant 7% of the votes against Biden, which amounts to nearly 70,000 votes as of Wednesday morning. The write-in candidates received approximately 60,000 votes from various counties. However, the complete breakdown of write-in votes for the “uncommitted” category is not yet available due to some counties not reporting their totals.
Phillips and Haley had initially qualified for Pennsylvania’s primary ballot, but they ultimately withdrew from the presidential race. On the other hand, both Biden and Trump are expected to secure their parties’ nominations and go head-to-head in the upcoming general election in November. It’s worth noting that Phillips has since thrown his support behind Biden.
About 1 million ballots have been counted in the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries in Pennsylvania. This accounts for a portion of the 3.5 million registered Republican voters and 3.9 million registered Democratic voters.
In Pennsylvania, primary elections are held as closed elections, requiring individuals to have registered as either a Republican or a Democrat by April 8 in order to participate in their respective party’s primary.
