Haley gets 150K+ votes in Pennsylvania Republican primary

Former Indian American Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley received more than 150,000 votes in the Pennsylvania Republican primary Tuesday despite having dropped out of the race weeks ago.

The most recent election returns, from just after 9 am EDT Wednesday, show Haley with nearly 157,000 votes, enough for 16.6% of the total, with 90 percent of votes cast counted, according to the Hill.

Former President Donald Trump still easily won the primary, with more than 80% of the vote as of the latest count, and he will win all of Pennsylvania’s delegates in the winner-take-all primary. But Haley’s total is still a significant amount for a candidate who has not been in the race since early last month, the Hill noted.

The first Indian American to get a cabinet rank as US ambassador to UN under Trump emerged as the last remaining rival to her former boss in the Republican primaries after a much larger field narrowed down to two candidates by January. But Haley was ultimately unable to overcome Trump’s lead, and she dropped out following Super Tuesday in March.

READ: Nikki Haley Joins Hudson Institute as Walter P. Stern Chair (April 17, 2024)

Still, Haley appears to have reached or came close to 20% in several counties Tuesday. Her showing may not have significantly impacted Trump taking the state on his way to officially becoming the Republican nominee, especially as he became the presumptive nominee last month after clinching enough delegates.

But it could indicate a reason for concern in the general election, in which Pennsylvania is one of the key battleground states that could determine the winner of the Oval Office, the Hill suggested.

The polling average of the state from Decision Desk HQ/The Hill has Trump ahead of President Joe Biden in the state by just 0.4 percent, meaning every vote may have added importance there compared to many other states, it said.

RAED: Nikki Haley drops out of Republican presidential primary (March 6, 2024)

Haley has seen continued support over recent weeks in other states. She received more than 77,000 votes in the Georgia primary in March a few days after she dropped out, more than 150,000 votes, or almost 20%, in the Washington primary and more than 110,000 votes in the Arizona primary, the Hill noted.