Donald Trump cruises to victory in New Hampshire primary

Former president Donald Trump won the New Hampshire Republican primary on Tuesday night, taking another step towards securing his party’s nomination for the 2024 presidential election.

The Associated Press called shortly after polls closed in the state. With less than 20 per cent of results in by 8pm, Mr Trump had an insurmountable lead against his opponent Nikki Haley, with 54 per cent of the vote.

The former president, who is currently the 2024 Republican frontrunner, was expected to perform well in the Granite State given his stronghold over the majority of the Republican Party. However, unlike his performance in Iowa last week, Mr Trump’s margin of victory on Tuesday was much smaller.

With a larger-than-expected independent voter turnout, Ms Haley performed well in more liberal-leaning counties like Dover, Concord and Keene – early data indicated.

Although Ms Haley lost the primary, her campaign said they would continue campaigning to the next primary in her home state of South Carolina.

Minutes after his win, Mr Trump took to Truth Social and wrote, “Haley said she had to WIN in New Hampshire. SHE DIDN’T!!!”

RNC chairwoman, Ronna McDaniels, told NBC News that if Mr Trump came out “strong” then the Republican Party would need to unite behind one candidate.

Already, former candidates Senator Tim Scott, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have dropped out of the race and endorsed Mr Trump for president.

Mr Trump’s campaign urged Ms Haley to drop out of the 2024 race, saying her campaign had no viable path forward and was lending support to the Biden-Harris campaign.