‘Bad night for Nikki Haley,’ Trump boasts as she loses Nevada primary to ‘none of these candidates’ & Biden wins Dems
DONALD Trump has mercilessly mocked Nikki Haley after she lost the Nevada primary to the "none of these candidates" option on the ballot.
Haley suffered a stunning defeat in the GOP contest, while President Joe Biden stormed to victory in the Democratic Party's state primary which was also held on Tuesday night.
More than 42,500 people selected the "None of these candidates" option with 86% of the estimated vote counted.
Haley has received 20,799 votes and is languishing at 30.8%.
She is more than 30 points behind the "None of these candidates" option.
So far, more than 67,500 votes have been counted.
Haley received less than 10,000 votes in Clark County, which is home to Las Vegas and the state's most populous county.
Mike Pence and Tim Scott, who have already suspended their presidential campaigns, look set to come in third and fourth place.
Pence picked up more than 2,700 votes in the contest.
The results have been mocked by Donald Trump, who is storming to the Republican Party's presidential nomination.
"A bad night for Nikki Haley," he gloated on Truth Social after the result was called.
"Losing by almost 30 points in Nevada to 'None of These Candidates.'
"Watch, she’ll soon claim Victory!"
Trump was not on the ballot as he is taking part in Nevada's caucus on Thursday.
While Trump opted out of Tuesday's primary, he will run in Nevada's caucuses on Thursday, which Republicans will use to allocate delegates to the national convention.
THURSDAY'S VOTE
Nevada’s caucuses are scheduled for Thursday, February 8, from 5 pm to 7:30 pm.
Minnesota Representative Dean Phillips missed the deadline to be on Nevada’s primary ballot.
Biden held a rally in Las Vegas on Sunday and told the crowd that they would “make Donald Trump a loser again.”
After Nevada, the GOP race heads to South Carolina for the state's presidential primary, held on February 24.
Political expert David Richards, from the University of Lynchburg in Virginia, told The U.S. Sun that Haley should end her campaign if she wants to avoid a humiliating result.
He believes her campaign team may be talking about the possibility amongst themselves.
"At this point, the polls are so clear that if she wants to avoid embarrassment, she should probably wrap things up," he said.
"They [Her team] have to be talking about it amongst themselves. How could they not be?
"If she has good advisors, they will tell her to quit while everyone still likes her."
But if she loses narrowly in South Carolina, Richards said she might be able to spin that she has had some momentum before ending her campaign.