Tuesday's results in New Hampshire were not surprising, nor was the Republican reaction to them.
A few minutes after the state's Republican primary was chosen for the former president Donald Trumpannounced a procession of elected party officials I finish Trump's only remaining rival, Nikki Haley, urged her to end her campaign.
This is what Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, said it won't, Promising to continue as the primary race moves to its home state.
A stream of Republicans called on the party to “come together to”compact” And the “Union” around Trump.
Among them: Senators Rick Scott (Florida), Josh Hawley (Missouri), Mike Braun (Indiana), and John Cornyn (Texas). Virginia Fox of North Carolina, Byron Donalds of Florida, Kevin Hearn of Oklahoma, and Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota; and Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas.
Also on that list, in particular, is Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, who is officially considered neutral in the primary. McDaniel said on Fox News that the party must “unite around our ultimate nominee, which will be Donald Trump.”
The elected candidates were more frank.
“This is over and we all know it,” Donalds announced on social media.
It was a common refrain.
“This primary is over,” said North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who ended his presidential campaign in December.
“The Republican primary is over,” said Rep. Harriet Hagman of Wyoming, who defeated one of Trump’s most prominent opponents, Liz Cheney, in the 2022 primary.
“It's over,” said Senator Eric Schmidt of Missouri.
“It's over,” said Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina.
In post after post on social media, Republicans said any resistance to Trump's nomination would be futile: a “travesty” (Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas), Waste of resources (Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Reps. Mike Collins of Georgia, and Corey Mills of Florida), or even an act of partisan treason.
“At this point, Haley could either leave or help the Democrats,” said Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio.
There is one voice that has spoken against the grain: that of the governor of New Hampshire, Chris SununuHaley's most prominent supporter in the state, was an omnipresent presence on the campaign trail in the weeks leading up to the primary.
Haley “turned the national media narrative on its head and showed that this is actually a two-person race,” she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“And tonight, Granite State voters set sails as she heads toward her beautiful home state of South Carolina.”
Polls show Haley trailing Trump by more than 35 points in South Carolina, which will hold its primary on February 24.
Sununu added in an interview with: Fox News Wednesday morning that he opposed McDaniel's call to unite behind Trump after just two states had voted.
“The Republican Party chairman saying we don't want to hear from every other Republican in the country because it's getting too close — that's bullshit,” he said.
“Let voters decide, not a handful of political elites in Washington.”
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