Donald Trump suffered a blow in the Pennsylvania primary on Tuesday, as tens of thousands of Republicans refused to vote for him despite being the presumptive GOP nominee.
The former president won the primary race in the key swing state with 83.5 percent of the vote, amounting to more than 786,000 votes.
However, Nikki Haley, who ended her campaign for the White House after Super Tuesday in March, still received 16.5 percent of the vote, equating to more than 155,000 ballots.
The Context
Trump has dominated the Republican primary, and won enough delegates to clinch the Republican presidential nomination in March after victories in Georgia, Mississippi and Washington state.
However, there have been signs that Trump is still struggling to garner support from more moderate and independent voters who could be key in the general election against President Joe Biden, especially in the swing state of Pennsylvania.
What We Know
Trump continued his dominance in the GOP primary with a resounding victory in Pennsylvania, one of the states which could ultimately decide who wins the 2024 election.
While Trump still won more than 83 percent of the vote, Haley, seen as a more moderate Republican candidate who was also to sweep up the so-called "Never Trump" brigade, appears to still be causing problems for the former president's campaign despite no longer officially being in the race.
Haley, who was Trump's last remaining serious challenger in the GOP primary, had previously received more than 2 million votes on Super Tuesday, including winning the strong blue state of Vermont.
Haley also received more than 26 percent and 18 percent of the GOP primary vote in the key swing states of Michigan and Arizona respectively, amounting to hundreds of thousands of votes.
Several polls have indicated that many Haley supporters will not go on to vote for Trump in the 2024 election.
Trump lost Pennsylvania to Biden in the 2020 election by just over one percent (80,555 votes).
Trump's office has been contacted for comment via email.
Views
Anthony Scaramucci, Trump's former White House communications director, said: "Nikki Haley dropped out of the race over a month ago, yet she is polling nicely in PA.
"Trump has no shot to win the presidency. Write it down and study it. And if you are with him: CRY."
J.J. Abbott, who previously worked in former Democratic Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf's office, said: "Nikki Haley did not campaign in Pennsylvania. She dropped out in early March.
"The entire PA GOP establishment including Dave McCormick endorsed Trump. Haley is on track to get nearly 150,000 votes."
What's Next
The Indiana GOP primary will be held on May 7.
The Republican National Convention, where Trump will be confirmed as the 2024 nominee, will take place in Milwaukee in July.
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About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more