Haley notches 1st win over Trump in Washington, DC primary

HOUSTON, US

Nikki Haley notched her first primary win over Donald Trump on Sunday in the Washington, D.C. primary election, marking an historic victory.

The former South Carolina governor became the first woman to ever win a Republican presidential primary or caucus by beating the former president 63% to 33% in the US District of Columbia, according to multiple media outlets.

Trump has beaten Haley in every contest starting with the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary and also won the primary in Haley's home state of South Carolina.

But Haley vowed to fight until the very end despite the uphill battle against Trump and the D.C. victory gives her campaign a political breath of life.

"It's not surprising that Republicans closest to Washington dysfunction are rejecting Donald Trump and all his chaos," said Haley campaign spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas in a statement.

Political experts said Haley's win is more symbolic and does little to overcome the daunting task of overtaking Trump, who is considered the frontrunner to become the Republican presidential nominee and is leading by a commanding margin in most nationwide polls.

Haley will pick up just 19 delegates from the victory, which is a drop in the bucket considering that 1,215 delegates are needed to clinch the nomination.

"I purposely stayed away from the D.C. Vote because it is the 'Swamp,' with very few delegates, and no upside," Trump posted on social media regarding the primary.

The focus now shifts to the nation's biggest day of the primary season known as Super Tuesday, which will be on March 5. That is when the most US states hold their primary elections or caucuses.

The 15 states taking part in Super Tuesday are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia. The US territory of American Samoa will also hold a vote.

The candidate who reaches the 1,215 delegate count will formally be nominated at the Republican National Convention, which will be held from July 15-18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.