Story of the Week •
January 26th, 2024
Trump Wins New Hampshire, Haley Holds On
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
Former President Donald Trump won the Republican presidential primary in New Hampshire on Tuesday, securing roughly 54% of the vote in his second victory of the race.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley placed second and vowed to continue her campaign after securing roughly 43.3% of the vote.
President Joe Biden won the Democratic Party primary, despite not appearing on the ballot, beating Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) through a write-in campaign.
Trump's victory sparked discussion and debate across the political spectrum. Is the Republican primary over? Is Haley right to continue her campaign? Are Republicans making a smart decision by nominating Trump as their candidate?
In the Washington Examiner (Lean Right bias), Byron York (Right bias) said Haley has a "big decision to make," writing, "Yes, she’s vowed to go on. She has probably said 1,000 times that she is in it for the long run. But many candidates say that immediately after losing. Then, after they cool down, get some sleep, and think about it, they quit. And quitting is what some experienced voices are suggesting Haley do now in the face of a possible loss to Trump in her home state."
A writer in MSNBC (Left bias) determined Trump's victory signals that there is "no need to waste any more time wishing 2024 might be something other than a Biden-Trump rematch." The writer voiced optimism toward Democrats' chances, stating, "even without the economic wind at their backs, Democrats have won the last three cycles’ elections (and a long series of special elections since) by making the electorate aware that democracy is at risk, and there’s every reason to believe that Biden can beat Trump again."
The National Review Editorial Board (Right bias) determined that Trump's victory cements his status as the Republican nominee, but Haley's success with independent voters signals trouble for Trump's chances in the general election. The board wrote, "The Democrats want Trump as their opponent in the belief that they can salvage Joe Biden’s prospects by making the race all about Trump, and last night showed, once again, that they are making a sensible, if cynical, calculation."
A writer in CNN Opinion (Left bias) refuted the idea the Republican Party is coalescing around Trump, writing, "if New Hampshire offers us a snapshot in time, the picture is of a fairly weak frontrunner. As the Haley campaign told me earlier on Tuesday, it’s almost as if a bunch of Republicans have left the party because of Trump … and Nikki is bringing them home."
In the Daily Beast (Left bias), Matt Lewis (Center bias) determined Trump's victory in New Hampshire and continued popularity in the Republican Party are indications that the party is dead, writing, "The Party of Lincoln has metastasized into a decadent and perverse cult of personality that calls evil good and good evil." Lewis concludes, "The party’s over folks. Lock up when you leave. And will the last normie in the Republican Party please turn out the lights?"
The next stops in the Republican race are Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands, both of which are on Feb. 8. The next Democratic primary will take place in South Carolina on Feb. 3.
More from AllSides
- Opinion from the Center: "While there have certainly been other factors to Trump’s remarkable revival, there’s no question that his court fights have been an immense benefit to him."
- AllSides Election Coverage: Here’s our news team’s game plan for covering the election leading up to, on, and after November 8.
- 2024 Candidate Guide: Here's what the 2024 presidential candidates have said about energy and the environment.
More from the Left
It’s Fair to Ask: Is the Republican Race Over?
New York Times (analysis)
"Whether the race is 'over' or not, the New Hampshire result puts Mr. Trump on a comfortable path to the nomination. The Republican Party’s rules for awarding delegates, which allow states to award all of their delegates to the winner, could let him clinch the nomination in early March. Mr. Trump’s legal challenges add an extra twist — if he’s convicted of a crime, perhaps he’ll lose the nomination at the convention. But by the usual rules of primary elections, there’s just not much time for the race to change. If it doesn’t, Mr. Trump could easily sweep all 50 states."
More from the Right
Trump's start to 2024 election historic, Haley’s New Hampshire finish a likely mirage
Just The News (analysis)
"Donald Trump has done what no other Republican non-incumbent has accomplished in modern politics, scoring wins in the opening contests of Iowa and New Hampshire. And he scored both with more than 50% of the vote, without participating in a single debate and while facing the political machinery of two popular incumbent governors who threw their support to his competitors."
More from the Center
Takeaways from the New Hampshire presidential primary
Reuters (analysis)
"It is hard to lose to a candidate who isn’t on the ballot, but Democrat Dean Phillips pulled it off on Tuesday. For Biden, the result brings a sigh of relief that his campaign avoided what could have been a mortifying night that would provided talk-show fodder for weeks. The incumbent president was on track to win the primary by a nearly 50-percentage-point margin after voters wrote his name in on their ballots."
