Donald Trump defeated his main rival, Nikki Haley, in the state’s Tuesday primary. Trump emerges victorious in the Michigan primary, securing 64.9% of the vote, while Nikki Haley garners 31.0% of the vote. On the Democratic side, President Biden is projected to prevail despite facing pushback from Arab and Muslim groups urging votes for “uncommitted” rather than the incumbent. Trump’s victory comes after Haley lost in her home state, South Carolina. Haley, however, vowed to continue the fight.
Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley is using the Michigan Republican primary results to continue arguing former president Donald Trump is vulnerable in a general election. The Haley campaign characterized the Michigan loss as a bad sign for Trump. It noted that about one-third of Republican primary voters cast ballots for someone other than the former president.
Though Haley was projected to lose to Trump, her campaign stated after the race was called that emphasized the election losses Republicans have suffered since Trump first won the presidency in 2016.
“Since Trump became president in 2016, he lost Michigan Republicans the state House, state Senate, and Governor’s mansion. What was once a beacon for the conservative cause, the Michigan Republican Party is now fractured and divided,” Haley spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas said. “That’s a flashing warning sign for Trump in November.”
Former president Donald Trump called into a Michigan GOP election night party after being announced as the projected winner of the presidential primary there.
Trump’s brief remarks focused on the general election. He narrowly won the state in 2016 before losing it four years later.
“We have a very simple task: We have to win on Nov. 5,” Trump said. “We win Michigan, we win the whole thing.”
Before the Michigan winner was announced, Nikki Haley went on to defend her decision to stay in the race. “We’ve only seen a handful of states vote. I mean, look, I’ve said this before as much as the media wants to jump ahead, we’re taking this one state, one day at a time.”
