A former United States Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley has defeated Donald Trump in the Republican primary in Washington, DC.
According to the BBC, she lost in South Carolina, her home state. But she is the first woman to win a Republican primary in US history.
Mr Trump, former US President, however, has a huge lead over Haley and is likely to face Joe Biden in the November election.
Data showed that Haley would receive all 19 Republican delegates who were up for grabs in Washington DC, giving her 43 delegates nationwide – well behind Mr Trump’s 247.
Haley won 62.9 per cent of the vote, to Mr Trump’s 33.2 per cent in Washington DC.
It is seen as a largely symbolic win, as the capital is a heavily Democrat-leaning jurisdiction, with only about 23,000 registered Republicans in the city.
Local party officials said 2,035 Republicans participated in the primary, the Washington Post reported.
Haley’s campaign national spokesperson, Olivia Perez-Cubas, said: “It’s not surprising that Republicans closest to Washington dysfunction are rejecting Donald Trump and all his chaos”.
Trump has dominated every state primary or caucus in the Republican campaign and is poised to win more delegates this week, on Super Tuesday, when voters in 15 states and one US territory will nominate their candidate. It is the biggest day of setting contests, with 874 Republican delegates’ support at stake.
