Republican presidential candidate and former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley holds a placard, given to her by a member of the audience, during a campaign event in South Burlington, Vermont, US, March 3, 2024.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Nikki Haley won the Republican primary in Vermont, according to The Associated Press, notching her second victory of the 2024 campaign and her first -- and perhaps only -- win in a Super Tuesday state.
Her triumph will not halt what has so far has been former President Donald Trump's steady march toward the Republican presidential nomination, but it does signal her limited strength in places with large numbers of younger people, college-educated voters and independents.
In recent days, Haley had pointed to that small but significant base of support as a reason she had not dropped her bid. Her campaign had hoped to chart a winning path for her in Michigan and in 11 Super Tuesday states where Republican primaries are not limited to voters affiliated with the party. But that strategy had largely fallen flat. Her sole victory until Tuesday had been in Washington, D.C., where she made history Sunday as the only Republican woman to ever win a presidential primary or caucus.
In Vermont, which has an open primary, Haley drew the endorsement of Gov. Phil Scott, a moderate who has said he did not vote for Trump in either of his previous White House bids, and in 2019 became the first Republican governor to back Trump's impeachment.
While Vermont is home to an independent-minded electorate, before the contest Haley had been trailing the former president there by more than 30 points.