'Democrats gonna love this': Internet divided as Nikki Haley defeats Donald Trump in Vermont GOP primary

MONTPELIER, VERMONT: Nikki Haley, the former two-term governor of South Carolina, emerged victorious in Vermont's Republican primary by a narrow margin.

It was her first win out of 15 states on Super Tuesday, and she is also the only Republican woman to have won a state presidential primary.

This victory was a small silver lining amidst the flurry of wins that former President Donald Trump racked up in almost every other state.

Haley won the race by a mere 4.3 percentage points, or 2,511 votes, when the Associated Press called the race for her at 10.37 pm on Tuesday, with over 80% of votes counted, according to a report by Forbes.

On the other hand, Trump won 11 of the 15 other states that held their GOP primaries on Super Tuesday, putting him within striking distance of securing the GOP presidential nomination.

What does the path ahead look like for Nikki Haley?

The state of Vermont is considered one of the smallest and most Democratic states in the United States.

The outcome of the state's primary election is expected to have a minimal impact on the overall results coming out of Super Tuesday.

The state only awards a total of 17 GOP delegates, in contrast to the more than 160 delegates awarded by Texas and California.

Before this, the former United Nations ambassador had only secured one victory in the primaries, which was in Washington DC with a total of just under 1,300 votes.

Despite the odds stacked against her, Haley has chosen to remain in the presidential race.

She has faced significant losses in the earlier primary contests, including Iowa and New Hampshire, and a heavy defeat in her home state of South Carolina, last month.

So far, she has failed to secure a win in any significant Super Tuesday states such as Virginia.

Donald Trump, on the other hand, has secured a total of 20 primary contests as of Tuesday.

The former president’s campaign team estimates that he could potentially secure the nomination as early as next week, having won a total of 273 delegates out of the required 1,215.

However, Haley's recent victory in Vermont could potentially boost her delegate count.

Per The Washington Post, If she manages to secure 50% of the votes cast, she would be awarded all 17 delegates.

However, if she falls short of this threshold, the delegates would be split proportionally, according to Vermont GOP party rules.

It is worth noting that the state of Vermont has a larger number of registered Democrats and Independents compared to Republicans, although the turnout for the Republican primary was higher than expected.

In the Democratic primary, President Joe Biden won with a total of 49,625 votes, with 79% of the votes counted.

Haley's victory in Vermont was a surprise to many, who had expected Trump to win all 15 contests on Super Tuesday.

Vermont GOP chair Paul Dame said he was not shocked to see a much smaller lead because he feels Trump has outperformed in primary polling.

“I was expecting a very close race like this,” Dame noted.

Haley campaigned in the Green Mountain State on Sunday and organized a rally with Gov Phil Scott (R), who has been vocal about his criticism of Trump.

Scott believes that Haley provides the best opportunity for Republicans to stop Trump from winning the nomination.

State Representative Ashley Bartley, who previously worked on Ohio Governor John Kasich's (R) campaign in 2016, felt proud to see Haley performing well in the state, especially in cities.

She is now a co-chair of Haley's state leadership team and recounted the narrow race against Trump in 2016 where he won by three points and felt optimistic going by the number of people who turned up for Haley.

“It’s been so uplifting,” Bartley remarked.

Internet reacts to Haley's unlikely win

People on X expressed their reactions to Nikki Haley's shocking upset against former President Donald Trump in the Vermont GOP primary.

One X user remarked: "Democrats gonna love this one."

Another user said, "Maybe her last hurrah, but I still enjoy seeing her beat Trump."

Someone else said, "Good for her!"

One user remarked: "Let’s go Nikki!"

Another quipped, "Damn it Vermont!! You gave her false hope and now she won't go away..."

Someone else tweeted, "Seems like she is the king/queen maker here. If she bows and doesn’t endorse Trump it would make it more difficult for him with the votes she is getting."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.