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Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley says that the party’s primary race is “far from over” despite another defeat to Donald Trump.
The former South Carolina governor remained upbeat at her primary night rally in New Hampshire on Tuesday, with predictions that she will pick up more delegates than expected from the Granite State.
“This race is far from over,” Ms Haley told the crowd in Concord, New Hampshire. “There are dozens of states left to go … and the next one is my sweet state of South Carolina.”
She added: “I want to congratulate Donald Trump on his victory tonight, he earned it and I want to acknowledge that.”
“New Hampshire is first in the nation – it is not last in the nation.”
Ms Haley also told her supporters that she had started the race for the nomination with just two per cent support and “was now the last one standing next to Donald Trump.”
She also told the crowd that the “worst kept secret in politics” is “how badly the democrats want to run against Donald Trump.”
Ms Haley also mocked the mental mistakes that Mr Trump had made on the campaign trail, like confusing her with former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“I’ve long called for mental competency tests for politics over the age of 75,” she said. “Trump claims he’d do better than me in one of those tests. If he thinks that, then he should have no problem standing on a debate stage with me.”
And she added: “The first party to retire its 80-year-old candidate will win this election.”
But Ms Haley’s confidence was not shared by her former boss, Mr Trump, who attacked her in a string of posts on Truth Social and then in his own victory speech.
“Haley said she had to WIN in New Hampshire. SHE DIDN’T!!!” he said in one, followed by another in which he branded her “DELUSIONAL!!!”
Mr Trump followed this with another post, in which he wrote, “SHE CAME IN THIRD LAST WEEK!”
And he then added: “SHE JUST LOST NEVADA, WHICH IS UP NEXT!” The next Republican primary is actually in South Carolina, Ms Haley’s home state and where she served as governor, and is set to take place on 24 February, while the Democratic primary in the state is on 3 February.
