Summary
Here is a wrap-up of the day’s key events:
The United Auto Workers union has endorsed Joe Biden for re-election as president. Addressing the union, UAW president Shawn Fain said: “This November, we can stand up and elect someone who stands with us and supports our cause, or we can elect someone who will divide us, and fight us every step of the way.”
Joe Biden addressed the UAW at its conference in Washington DC and was met with repeated applause and cheers following the union’s endorsement of him. “I’ve always fought for a strong auto industry… You deserve to benefit when these companies thrive… Record profits mean record contracts,” said Biden, adding, “We build in America, we buy in America.”
Joe Biden also condemned Donald Trump’s policies, saying, “He’s the only president other than Herbert Hoover who lost jobs when he was president.” “He cut taxes for the very wealthy and the biggest corporations. He shipped good paying jobs overseas because labor was cheaper… It hollowed out entire communities, closing factories, I’m not making this up, you know this to be true,” Biden added.
Joe Biden’s re-election campaign expressed confidence in the president’s ability to again defeat Donald Trump in November, even as polls show the two men running neck and neck. Biden also made some changes to his campaign team, bringing in reinforcements from the White House.
Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel called on Nikki Haley to drop her 2024 presidential bid, the day after Trump beat her in the New Hampshire primary. “Looking at the math and the path going forward…I don’t see it for Nikki Haley,” said McDaniel.
Nikki Haley vowed to carry on her campaign despite losing the New Hampshire primary by a significant margin. She immediately headed to her home state of South Carolina, which holds its Republican primary on 23 February.
Donald Trump comfortably won the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday evening, beating his only remaining credible contender, Haley, into second place. It was not a crushing victory but it was solid.
Ryan Binkley, a Texas pastor and co-founder of a financial services firm, remains committed to becoming the US’s next president. Binkley, who received 0.1% of the votes – or 284 votes – in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, has his eyes now set on Nevada. “Please keep spreading the word about http://Binkley2024.com as I move forward to Nevada,” he wrote on X.
That’s it from me, Maya Yang, as we wrap up the blog for today. Thank you for following along.
Ryan Binkley, a Texas pastor and co-founder of a financial services firm, remains committed to becoming the US’s next president.
Binkley, who received 0.1% of the votes – or 284 votes – in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, has his eyes now set on Nevada.
In a post on X, Binkley thanked New Hampshire residents, saying:
“New Hampshire: Thank you for a great few days. I enjoyed the time and conversation around issues that matter to all Americans. Thank you for being #FITN [’first in the nation’]. Please keep spreading the word about http://Binkley2024.com as I move forward to Nevada.”
He went on to include several hashtags including “#WhoIsRyanBinkley.”
New Hampshire: Thank you for a great few days.
— Ryan Binkley (@RyanBinkley) January 24, 2024
I enjoyed the time and conversation around issues that matter to all Americans. Thank you for being #FITN
Please keep spreading the word about https://t.co/fh7MPqRZLa as I move forward to Nevada. #WhoIsRyanBinkley #Binkley2024… pic.twitter.com/fgqgYxns8w
Binkley, who launched his presidential bid nine months ago, has spent more than $8m of his own money on his campaign.
Explaining his decision to run, Binkley said, “God spoke to me.”
Here is video of United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain announcing UAW’s endorsement of Joe Biden:
United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain announces the union’s endorsement of Joe Biden:
— The Recount (@therecount) January 24, 2024
“Joe Biden bet on the American worker, while Donald Trump blamed the American worker! … If our endorsements must be earned, Joe Biden has earned it!” pic.twitter.com/lXxm9BstfN
Fain said:
“We need to know who is going to stand up with us and this choice is clear. “Joe Biden bet on the American worker, while Donald Trump blamed the American worker! We need to know who’s going to sit in the most powerful seat in the world and help us win as a united working class. So if our endorsements must be earned, Joe Biden has earned it!”
Biden concluded his speech to a room full of applause, saying, “It’s never ever ever been a good bet to bet against the American people.”
“I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future… There’s nothing beyond our capacity when we work together,” he added.
Biden attacks Trump's jobs record, calling him only president since Hoover who lost jobs
“We have more work to do but our plan is delivering to the American people, building an economy from the bottom up, not the top down,” said Biden.
“If I’m going to be in a fight, I want to be in a fight with you, UAW. We have a big fight in front of us. We’re fundamentally changing the economy of this country, taking it from the economy that takes care of those at the top… All anyone wants is just a fair shot, an even shot,” he added.”
“You’re the heroes of this story,” he continued.
Biden also condemned Donald Trump’s policies, saying, “He’s the only president other than Herbert Hoover who lost jobs when he was president.”
“He cut taxes for the very wealthy and the biggest corporations. He shipped good paying jobs overseas because labor was cheaper… It hollowed out entire communities, closing factories, I’m not making this up, you know this to be true,” Biden added.
Updated
“I strongly believe a company’s transition to new technology should…include every hire in the same factories in the same communities with comparable wages,” said Biden.
“Existing union workers should have the first shot at these jobs,” he added.
“I don’t believe any company should be using threats or tactics to stand in the way of workers’ righst to organize. Period,” he continued.
Biden: 'We build in America, we buy in America!'
The crowd descended into a united chant of “UAW!” as Biden looked on.
“We build in America, we buy in America,” said Biden. "Because of you, Toyota, Volkswagen, Nissan…all gave their workers double digit raises. Because of you!” he said.
Updated
“I’ve always fought for a strong auto industry… You deserve to benefit when these companies thrive… Record profits mean record contracts,” Joe Biden told a cheering crowd.
“I’m tired of jobs going overseas… But not anymore. We’re building products here and shipping overseas!” he added.
The influence of the union, a symbol of America’s working class, cannot be understated.
The endorsement secures a major win for Biden, who hoped to win the group’s favor after appearing on a picket line with striking auto workers last fall – a first for a sitting president. Biden said it was his goal to “be the most pro-union president ever.”
A grateful Biden has now taken the stage after receiving UAW’s endorsement.
The United Automobile Workers union has officially endorsed Biden for president
“This November, we can stand up and elect someone who stands with us and supports our cause, or we can elect someone who will divide us, and fight us every step of the way,” UAW president Shawn Fain said.
“That’s what this choice is about. The question is, who do we want in that office to give us the best shot of winning?”
“Biden!” someone could be heard shouting from the crowd.
Updated
The endorsement of UAW is likely to send a message that Biden is on the side of working-class Americans – a group the Trump campaign has tried to court in the past.
Addressing the union, UAW president Shawn Fain spoke of unity and putting fear in the hearts of the billionaire class.
“They try to weaken us by dividing us,” Fain said, referring to large corporations that take the lion’s share of profits. “The wealthy divide the masses as the rich walk away with all the money.”
Updated
Biden is about to address the United Automobile Workers union at their conference held in Washington. The powerful labor group is expected to endorse the president for a second term, AP reports. It’s good news for Biden who needs to make gains in key swing states like Michigan and Wisconsin, where auto-manufacturing is major industry.
UAW also endorsed Biden in 2020.
Auto workers union UAW to endorse Biden - reports
Joe Biden is about to address the annual conference of the United Auto Workers union, in Washington, DC, and reports are multiplying that the union intends to endorse him for re-election as US president.
The Democrat from working class Scranton has frequently called himself the most pro-union US president and he became the first sitting president to appear on a picket line when he supported the auto workers in their industrial action against the big three makers of Ford, General Motors and Chrysler vehicles last fall.
Outlets including NBC, CNN and the New York Times are among those citing sources that the UAW will endorse Biden this afternoon. Reuters cited the NYT in its report.
Biden told striking workers last September in Michigan that they deserved a big pay rise, after years of wage scrimping while their corporations did well. The workers ended up getting deals and resolving the strikes.
Milestone appointments expected for Black female federal judges
The Senate this afternoon is expected to confirm Jacquelyn Austin to become a US district judge South Carolina and Cristal Brisco to become a US district judge in the northern district of Indiana.
The two women will bring the total number of Black women appointed to lifetime seats on the federal bench in Joe Biden’s presidency to 35.
NOMINEE: Jacquelyn Austin to the District of South Carolina
— Senate Judiciary Committee (@JudiciaryDems) November 29, 2023
Judge Austin is a highly experienced jurist, earning her the support of the South Carolina Senators.
She will serve with distinction. pic.twitter.com/N7FgiVXPSD
Judge Brisco will be the first Black judge and first woman of color to serve as a lifetime judge on the northern district of Indiana. Judge Austin will be the third Black woman to serve as a lifetime judge on the district of South Carolina and the only Black woman who will be currently serving, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights noted in a statement earlier today.
NOMINEE: Cristal Brisco to the Northern District of Indiana
— Senate Judiciary Committee (@JudiciaryDems) December 14, 2023
Judge Brisco is highly qualified, having experience as a superior court judge and former civil litigator.
With deep ties to the Hoosier State and the support of Senators Braun and Young, she’s ready to serve. pic.twitter.com/duU6ZLbRvj
“Milestones like this are important. The Senate’s confirmation of 35 Black women – many of whom have worked to advance civil and human rights throughout their legal careers – to lifetime appointments on our federal courts continues the Biden administration’s historic progress toward building a judiciary that reflects and represents the vast diversity of our nation. We celebrate this progress, including the critical yet underrepresented legal backgrounds that many of these judges bring to the bench,” said Lena Zwarensteyn, senior director of the fair courts program at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
Asked about the milestone at a media briefing in the west wing earlier, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Joe Biden “has been very proud of the women, the women of color, that he has been able to put forward for these positions…It’s important that we have this kind of representation, representation matters.”
Updated
Interim summary
It’s been a lively morning after the night before in New Hampshire and there’s much afoot in Washington and on the campaign trail, so follow events here as they happen.
Here’s where things stand:
Joe Biden’s re-election campaign expressed confidence in the president’s ability to again defeat Donald Trump in November, even as polls show the two men running neck and neck. Biden also made some changes to his campaign team, bringing in reinforcements from the White House.
Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel called on Nikki Haley to drop her 2024 presidential bid, the day after Trump beat her in the New Hampshire primary.
Joe Biden won New Hampshire’s Democratic presidential primary, even though the incumbent refused to campaign in the state and had to rely on a write-in campaign powered by his allies and surrogates to secure a victory.
Nikki Haley vowed to carry on her campaign despite losing the New Hampshire primary by a significant margin. She immediately headed to her home state of South Carolina, which holds its Republican primary on 23 February.
Donald Trump comfortably won the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday evening, beating his only remaining credible contender, Haley, into second place. It was not a crushing victory but it was solid.
Dean Phillips, the Democratic congressman from Minnesota, is pushing on with his 2024 bid for president.
On Wednesday, Phillips departed for South Carolina ahead of the state’s primaries next month. According to his campaign, Phillips is set to greet patrons at the Bistreaux by Fleur de Licious, a restaurant in the state capital Columbia, this evening.
Speaking to ABC on Tuesday, Phillips vowed to stay in the race, saying,
“The country would be much happier with a Dean Phillips-Nikki Haley matchup this November. I know she’s hearing that. I’m hearing the same thing.”
Updated
Trump reportedly spent New Hampshire victory night privately seething
Donald Trump spent his victory night in New Hampshire privately seething to his aides, according to reports.
CNN reports that after the polls for the state’s primary closed, Trump “continued to rail against Nikki Haley privately and publicly after she declined to drop out of the race”.
The ex-president also reportedly told his aides that he was baffled that Haley remains adamant about staying in the race, and urged his political aides to ramp up their attacks on his former UN ambassador.
During his speech last night, Trump issued a warning to Haley, saying: “Just a little note to Nikki. She’s not going to win. But if she did, she would be under investigation by those people in 15 minutes, and I could tell you five reasons why already.”
He added: “Not big reasons, little stuff that she doesn’t want to talk about, that she will be under investigation within minutes, and so would Ron [DeSantis] have been, but he decided to get out.
Updated
Biden camp confident president will win against Trump in November
Joe Biden’s campaign expressed confidence in the president’s ability to again defeat Donald Trump in November, even as polls show the two men running neck and neck.
Quentin Fulks, Biden’s deputy campaign manager, noted that Trump’s 11-point margin of victory in New Hampshire last night was actually narrower than his 20-point win in 2016, when he was running against more opponents.
“To put simply, Trump’s party is divided, and now he’s about to face the only politician who has ever beaten him and who did so with more votes than any presidential candidate in history: President Joe Biden,” Fulks said.
But reporters pressed campaign officials about Biden’s performance in polls, some of which show Trump pulling ahead in key battleground states.
“We don’t govern based on polls, and polls are just a snapshot in time,” said Cedric Richmond, the Biden campaign co-chair. “If I had a dollar for every time somebody counted Joe Biden out based on polls or something else, then I’d be independently wealthy.”
He added: “Do we think we’re going to win? Absolutely. Because there’s too much on the line not to for the American people.”
Updated
Joe Biden’s campaign is moving full steam ahead into the general election, effectively declaring the Republican primary over as it focuses its attention on Donald Trump.
Speaking to reporters this morning, Julie Chávez Rodríguez, Biden’s campaign manager, said the results of the New Hampshire Republican primary “confirm that Donald Trump has all but locked up the GOP nomination.”
“With that simple fact established, the choice that American voters will face next November is coming into increasingly sharp focus. It’ll be a choice between two visions for this country that couldn’t be more different,” Rodríguez said.
“Donald Trump is running a campaign of revenge and retribution that threatens American democracy and our fundamental freedoms, while Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are running to move the country forward and make life better for working people.”
Asked how Biden’s team determined that Nikki Haley has no path to winning the Republican nomination, communications director Michael Tyler said the campaign is “just looking at the reality of the data in front of us.”
“Coming off of Iowa and New Hampshire, you have Donald Trump, who’s fully consolidated the extreme MAGA [‘Make America Great Again’] base of the party and is marching towards the nomination,” Tyler said. “So this campaign is now laser focused on presenting that direct choice to the American people because it’s real at this point in time.”
During his victory speech last night, Donald Trump apppeared to imply that New Hampshire’s Republican governor Chris Sununu is on drugs.
Speaking to a crowd that began to boo upon hearing about Sununu, Trump said:
“You have the now very unpopular governor of this state. This guy, he’s gotta be on something. I’ve never seen anybody with energy. He’s like hopscotch.”
Donald Trump implies Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) is on drugs after he wins the state's primary:
— The Recount (@therecount) January 24, 2024
"You have the now very unpopular governor of this state. This guy, he's gotta be on something. I've never seen anybody with energy. He's like hopscotch." pic.twitter.com/IrigqiPYZ5
Sununu and Trump have exchanged insults with each other, with Sununu telling Trump on Tuesday to watch TV “with subtitles next time,” as “it’s tough keeping up with the conversation given your advanced age.”
I suppose it’s tough keeping up with the conversation given your advanced age.
— Chris Sununu (@ChrisSununu) January 23, 2024
Maybe try subtitles next time.
Thanks for watching. pic.twitter.com/hTET2s6z5d
With Donald Trump’s primary victory on Tuesday night in New Hampshire, Joe Biden is setting his sights on the ex-president as his likely 2024 opponent.
The Guardian’s Sam Levine reports:
Joe Biden appears to have set his sights on an almost inevitable rematch with Donald Trump for the White House in November’s election, after the former president’s decisive win in the New Hampshire primary, on his sprint to the Republican nomination.
Biden’s campaign believes the presidential election has officially begun, Politico reported, with Trump’s victory over Nikki Haley in New Hampshire on Tuesday officially kicking off what the outlet described as “the longest and most grueling general election campaign in modern American political history”.
It’s a dynamic that underscores the unusual nature of the 2024 campaign. Usually, the results from the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary have marked just the beginning of the nominating contest, with a long slog of an intra-party fight into the spring.
For the full story, click here:
Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump’s opponent in the 2016 presidential race, has responded to Trump’s boast of “we won New Hampshire three times now… We win the primary, we win the generals.”
In a post on X, Clinton posted side-by-side screenshots of the 2016 and 2020 general presidential results from New Hampshire in which both she and Joe Biden won four electoral votes over Trump, who received 0.
Trump last night: “We won New Hampshire three times now… We win the primary, we win the generals.”
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 24, 2024
Reality: Um... pic.twitter.com/iQCGZEHzHs
Updated
Jaime Harrison, chair of the Democratic National Committee, said South Carolina voters will not turn out for Nikki Haley in her home state’s open primaries next month, tweeting:
“[South Carolina] Democrats know Nikki Haley very well & as the former chair of the state Democratic party, I can tell you that we haven’t forgotten her voter suppressing, abortion banning, Medicaid expansion blocking, union busting, rural hospital closing, confederate flag apologizing leadership. So not a no, but a Hell No!”
This is all truth… SC Democrats know Nikki Haley very well & as the former chair of the state Democratic party, I can tell you that we haven’t forgotten her voter suppressing, abortion banning, Medicaid expansion blocking, union busting, rural hospital closing, confederate flag… https://t.co/cBAObPcyRq
— Jaime Harrison (@harrisonjaime) January 24, 2024
Updated
Vivek Ramaswamy, the biotech entrepreneur who dropped out of the 2024 presidential race earlier this month, took another swipe at Nikki Haley last night as he appeared on stage last night alongside Donald Trump in New Hampshire.
“What we see right now with her continuing in this race is the ugly underbelly of American politics – where the mega donors are trying to do one thing when we the people say another,” Trump’s former rival said.
VIVEK: “What we see right now with her continuing in this race is the ugly underbelly of American politics. When the mega donors say to do one thing and we say to do another.” pic.twitter.com/crKX6mQJRf
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 24, 2024
Throughout the campaign trail, Ramaswamy repeatedly attacked Haley, at one point calling her a “fascist neocon” with lipstick.
RNC chair: 'I don't see it for Nikki Haley'
In a new interview with Fox News, Republican National Committee Ronna McDaniel called on Nikki Haley to drop her 2024 presidential bid.
McDaniel, who urged Republicans to unite behind Donald Trump, said:
“Looking at the math and the path going forward…I don’t see it for Nikki Haley. I think she’s run a great campaign but I do think there is a message that’s coming out from the voters which is very clear: We need to unite our eventual nominee which is going to be Donald Trump and we need to make sure we beat Joe Biden. It is 10 months away till the November election and we can’t wait any longer to put our foot on the gas, to beat the worst president…”
🚨RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel calls on Nikki Haley to drop out of the 2024 Presidential race after losing to Trump in New Hampshire:
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 24, 2024
“I don’t see it for Nikki Haley.” pic.twitter.com/1BzMs3ryrM
Nate Cohn’s analysis in the New York Times is that Nikki Haley has now missed her best shot to change the trajectory of the Republican contest. He writes:
Trump’s 12-point margin of victory is not extraordinarily impressive in its own right. In fact, he won by a smaller margin than many pre-election polls suggested.
What makes Trump’s victory so important – and what raises the question about whether the race is over – is that New Hampshire was Haley’s best opportunity to change the trajectory of the race. It was arguably her best opportunity to win a state, period. If she couldn’t win here, she might not be able to win anywhere.
In the Washington Post, Maeve Reston and Ashley Parker write that Trump’s juggernaut has rolled on, despite Haley’s campaign insisting they live to fight another day. They write:
The New Hampshire voters who could have lifted Haley to victory instead chose Trump and made her long-shot bid even longer. Haley had performed better than predicted by some pre-election polling, but it was a decisive loss nonetheless.
Haley’s campaign insists that as many as a dozen remaining states – including Michigan and many of those that cast ballots in the Super Tuesday contests 5 March – offer “fertile ground” for Haley, because they are open or semi-open primaries where independents are allowed to vote.
Nikki Haley is set to continue her campaign later today by visiting the US Virgin Islands and South Carolina later today. Donald Trump flew back to Florida after his victory speech last night.
Dean Phillips, a Democratic congressman from Minnesota, and Marianne Williamson, an author and self-help guru who ran for president in 2020, were among the potential challengers to Joe Biden on the Democratic primary ticket in New Hampshire. Biden took the vote after a write-in campaign, and neither Phillips nor Williamson made significant in-roads.
Jared Gans writes this for the Hill about Phillips:
Phillips centered his long-shot attempt to oppose Biden’s renomination on New Hampshire, having filed there first when launching his candidacy. If there was anywhere for Phillips to see the most success, the Granite State was likely to be it.
Phillips had the opportunity to repeatedly criticize Biden for not campaigning for the support of New Hampshire voters and emphasize his electability argument.
But those arguments seemed to have fallen mostly flat. Phillips barely received more than 20% of the vote, while the other notable longshot, Williamson, received less than 5%.
Ahead of the primary, Phillips declared that reaching the 20s would be “quite extraordinary”. But he was only able to get a fraction of Biden’s percentage even with the incumbent not on the ballot – and he is about to experience a more contested primary starting in about 10 days.
Updated
Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist and CNN political commentator, argues today that the New Hampshire result ultimately doesn’t present good news for Donald Trump. He writes:
Trump lost a stunning two-thirds of New Hampshire voters who are not in either political party, according to initial results from a CNN exit poll. In Iowa, 43% of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s supporters said they would vote for President Joe Biden against Trump.
Where Reagan-Bush Republicans stood for limited government, strong national defense, and traditional family values, Trump added about $8tn to the national debt, disdains Nato, and has been found by a jury of his peers to be civilly liable for sexual abuse (which he has denied).
Trump’s challenge, now that the nomination fight is effectively over, will be to appeal to voters who are turned off by his cult of personality. His angry, bitter speech Tuesday night was a terrible beginning for the general election. Did the grievance-filled rant against Haley sound like a winner to you? No, it sounded like a guy who is in deep doo-doo with independents. This is a potential disaster for Trump.
While Nikki Haley’s home state of South Carolina on 24 February is the next big date on the horizon, the campaign does have a slightly odd detour into Nevada first.
For the Democratic party, it is quite straightforward. There is a primary on 6 February, and Joe Biden is expected to win it.
For Republicans, it is more complicated. A state-run primary happens on 6 February, but it is non-binding. Instead, a subsequent Republican caucus organised by the party on 8 February will choose who gets the state’s 26 delegates.
Why?
Because Nevada passed a law in 2021 requiring that the state organise primaries, but the Republicans have chosen to stick to organising a caucus. Nevada’s Republicans also made it a rule that anybody participating in the primary cannot participate in the caucus.
The outcome of that is Nikki Haley’s name will be on the ballot for the 6 February primary, and will receive no delegates for her campaigning efforts. Donald Trump will participate in the caucus, essentially without any opposition, and will be awarded the delegates.
Eric Bradner at CNN writes that it is difficult to see where a Nikki Haley victory is coming from, despite them promising big spending. He said:
What is not clear is where Haley could actually notch a victory against Trump. She isn’t participating in the Nevada caucuses on 8 February (she will instead be on the state’s primary ballot, which won’t lead to her winning any delegates), and polls in her home state of South Carolina – where the 24 February primary will be the next major showdown – show Trump with a huge lead.
Haley is likely to face immense pressure to depart the race in coming days. She’ll face questions about whether she’ll follow a path similar to Florida Gov Ron DeSantis, who vowed to continue on after his second-place finish in last week’s Iowa caucuses – and then he dropped out days later.
Haley’s campaign said Tuesday it is placing $4m in television advertising reservations in South Carolina. She has also scheduled a rally Wednesday night in North Charleston.
Mark Harris, executive director of the pro-Haley Super Pac SFA Fund, told CNN the group is “on to South Carolina” and plan to spend millions on ads, mail and more.
We do have a handy timeline of how the US election process will unfold this year – however you can’t help but think the section between South Carolina on 24 February and election day on 5 November may all turn out to be superfluous, as by the end of next month we may well find ourselves fully into a Trump v Biden rematch campaign.
If you’d like to listen to something about the campaign, in the final episode of our special three-part podcast series from New Hampshire, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Lauren Gambino and Semafor’s David Weigel about whether or not Haley actually has reason to be positive.
You can listen to it here: Haley vows to fight on despite Trump win in New Hampshire – podcast
In the New York Times’ opinion columns overnight, despite her protestations, Frank Bruni can’t see anything but the end of the road for the Nikki Haley campaign. He writes:
A wishful narrative took shape: New Hampshire’s quirky voters would buck Iowans and back Haley. Independents would overwhelm the Maga minions. She’d notch an upset victory and then, all across a Trump-pummeled land, voters would suddenly realize that they had an alternative, suddenly recognize polls that showed Haley with a better chance in a one-on-one contest against President Biden than Trump had. They would come to their senses. And on the far side of that epiphany gleamed Haley, her youth, ethnic background and gender giving the Republican Party a new vitality. A new image. A fresh start. What a lovely illusion. It just shattered.
Here is our video report with a clip of Donald Trump making his victory speech last night after the New Hampshire primary.
David Smith was in Nashua, New Hampshire for the Guardian, and had this analysis of Trump’s speech, saying:
The former US president had followed up his record win in the Iowa caucuses with victory over Nikki Haley, his former ambassador to the UN, with a double-digit triumph in less favourable political territory. As Republican politicians and donors scramble to jump aboard the Trump train, it is clearly game over for the Never Trumpers.
Trump could have been magnanimous in victory and congratulated Haley on a race well run. Instead, he was palpably irked by her refusal to drop out of the race. Petty and vindictive, he became a playground bully punching down for the benefit of an audience that glories in metaphorical violence.
Addressing a crowded hotel ballroom in Nashua, he gave Haley a dark warning: “Just a little note to Nikki. She’s not going to win. But if she did, she would be under investigation by those people in 15 minutes, and I could tell you five reasons why already. Not big reasons, little stuff that she doesn’t want to talk about.”
David Smith also had this to say on Nikki Haley’s campaign:
Haley now stands alone in a Republican party that belongs to him. Did she ever have a chance? Perhaps she could have done more to make it a choice rather than a coronation.
Haley could have emphasised her spouse’s military record and gone after Trump on his description of fallen solders as “losers” and “suckers”. She could have celebrated her identity as a daughter of Indian immigrants to contrast herself with Trump’s bigotry, nativism and racism. She could have played up her gender and what masterstroke it would be for Republicans, not Democrats, to produce America’s first female president after nearly 250 years.
But none of these are deemed viable in today’s party. Instead, when Haley did go bold and against the grain, it was on foreign policy, ardently pro-Israel and anti-Russia, and constantly bashing China. It was never going to win many extra votes but it was sure to alienate the isolationist “America First” wing of the party.
Read more of David Smith’s analysis from Nashua, New Hampshire: Trump turns into sinister playground bully in New Hampshire victory lap
Joe Biden wins New Hampshire’s Democratic primary with write-in votes
Joe Biden has won New Hampshire’s Democratic presidential primary, even though the incumbent refused to campaign in the state and had to rely on a write-in campaign powered by his allies and surrogates to secure a victory.
In a statement celebrating his win, Biden expressed gratitude toward his many supporters who wrote in his name and underscored the crucial importance of the general election, as it looks increasingly likely that Trump will win his party’s nomination.
“It is now clear that Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee. And my message to the country is the stakes could not be higher,” Biden said. “I want to thank all those who wrote my name in this evening in New Hampshire. It was a historic demonstration of commitment to our democratic process. And I want to say to all those Independents and Republicans who share our commitment to core values of our nation – our Democracy, our personal freedoms, an economy that gives everyone a fair shot – to join us as Americans.”
When the Associated Press called the race shortly after the last remaining polling places in New Hampshire closed at 8pm ET, it appeared that a clear majority of voters had cast ballots for write-in candidates. Most of those votes were expected to go to Biden, although some New Hampshire Democrats had planned to write in “ceasefire” to register their outrage over the war in Gaza and criticize US support for Israel’s military.
Read more of Joan E Greve’s report here: Joe Biden wins New Hampshire’s Democratic primary with write-in votes
Nikki Haley vows to fight on after Trump's victory in New Hampshire
Donald Trump’s only serious contender for the Republican nomination, Nikki Haley, has vowed to carry on her campaign despite losing the New Hampshire primary by a significant margin.
In her speech after the race was called, Haley, who has previously called Trump a “chaos” candidate, said:
New Hampshire is first in the nation. It is not the last in the nation. This race is far from over. There are dozens of states left to go, and the next one is my sweet state of South Carolina.
Haley served as the governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, and improved on her third place in the Iowa caucus, but was not able to pull off the shock result her campaign probably needed.
“With Donald Trump, you have one bout of chaos after another – this court case, that controversy, this tweet, that senior moment,” Haley said on Tuesday night. “You can’t fix Joe Biden’s chaos with Republican chaos.”
Haley had opened her speech with an acknowledgment of Trump’s success, rather more graciously than Trump gave her credit for. She said “I want to congratulate Donald Trump on his victory tonight. He earned it. And I want to acknowledge that.”
She also had some words for “the political class”, saying “you’ve all heard the chatter among the political class. They are falling all over themselves, saying this race is over … this race is far from over.”
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Donald Trump comfortably wins New Hampshire Republican primary
After months of heavy campaigning in the state, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley came in second place in the Republican primary. Securing a double-digit win over Haley, Donald Trump nabbed his second decisive victory after the Iowa caucuses a week before.
Despite her third-place finish in Iowa and her double-digit loss in New Hampshire, Haley still insists that she will continue on in the Republican primary. As she addressed supporters in New Hampshire on Tuesday night, Haley expressed optimism about her home state of South Carolina, which will hold its Republican primary on 24 February.
“New Hampshire is first in the nation. It is not the last in the nation,” Haley said. “This race is far from over. There are dozens of states left to go, and the next one is my sweet state of South Carolina.”
But polls show Haley trailing far behind Trump in South Carolina, so it remains unclear how the state might shake the fundamental dynamics of the race.
Addressing supporters in Nashua, Trump took a victory lap with a combative speech that included sharp criticism of Haley. “She had a very bad night,” Trump said. “She came in third [in Iowa], and she’s still hanging around.”
Trump derided Haley’s efforts to downplay her loss in New Hampshire, saying: “Let’s not have somebody take a victory when she had a very bad night.”
Read more from Joan E Greve here: Trump v Biden increasingly likely but Haley undaunted – key takeaways from New Hampshire primary
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Welcome and opening headlines …
Donald Trump took another stride towards becoming the Republican nominee for the 2024 US presidential election with an expected victory in the New Hampshire primary, but Nikki Haley probably did just enough to keep her campaign rolling on, at least until the South Carolina primary next month. She certainly vowed to continue on the night. Here are the headlines …
Trump’s Republican rival, Nikki Haley, vowed to fight on despite her second place finish in New Hampshire, a state where she had hoped for an upset, and her third place finish in the Iowa caucuses. But she faces long odds. There is no precedent for a candidate winning the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary and losing their party’s nomination.
In his victory night speech, Trump previewed the crudeness of the campaign rhetoric to come if Haley does not accede to his calls for her to drop out. In his remarks, which were more angry than celebratory, Trump suggested that Haley would find herself under investigation if she became the nominee.
Haley’s campaign dismissed Trump’s speech as a “furious and rambling rant” and asked: “If Trump is in such good shape, why is he so angry? This is why so many voters want to move on from Trump’s chaos and are rallying to Nikki Haley’s new generation of conservative leadership.”
Although independent voters were not able to lift Haley to victory, their support for her could create a problem down the road for Trump. According to an NBC News exit poll, Haley won 73% of Republican primary voters who described themselves as moderate. If Trump wants to defeat Biden in November, he will need to sway some of those moderate Republicans.
Because of the strange circumstances of the Democratic primary, Joe Biden’s name was not on the ballot, but the president cruised to an easy victory thanks to the help of a write-in campaign led by his most loyal supporters.
It is Martin Belam with you for the next few hours. You can reach me at martin.belam@theguardian.com.
