海角大神

Former President Donald Trump won New Hampshire鈥檚 primary on Tuesday, seizing command of the race for the Republican nomination even as President聽Joe Biden聽won the state鈥檚 Democratic primary.

The result was a setback for former U.N. Ambassador聽Nikki Haley, who finished second to Mr. Trump despite investing significant time and financial resources in a state famous for its聽independent streak. She鈥檚 his last remaining major challenger after Florida Gov.聽Ron DeSantis聽ended his presidential bid over the weekend, allowing her to campaign as the sole alternative to Mr.聽Trump.

Mr.聽Trump鈥檚 allies ramped up pressure on Ms.聽Haley to leave the race before the polls had closed, but Ms. Haley vowed after the results were announced to continue her campaign. Speaking to supporters, she intensified her criticism of the former president, questioning his mental acuity and pitching herself as a unifying candidate who would usher in generational change.

鈥淭his race is far from over. There are dozens of states left to go,鈥� Ms.聽Haley said, while some in the crowd cried, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not over!鈥�

Mr.聽Trump, meanwhile, can now boast of being the first Republican presidential candidate to win open races in Iowa and New Hampshire since both states began leading the election calendar in 1976, a striking sign of how rapidly Republicans have rallied around his effort to become their nominee for the third consecutive time.

He posted especially strong results in the state鈥檚 most conservative areas, while Ms.聽Haley won more liberal parts. The only areas in which Ms.聽Haley was leading Mr.聽Trump in early returns were in Democratic-leaning cities and towns such as Concord, Keene, and Portsmouth.

With easy wins in both early states, Mr.聽Trump is demonstrating an ability to unite the GOP鈥檚 factions firmly behind him. But about half of GOP primary voters in New Hampshire said they are very or somewhat concerned that Mr.聽Trump is too extreme to win the general election, according to聽AP VoteCast, a survey of the state鈥檚 electorate. Only about one-third say the same about Ms.聽Haley.

Pat Sheridan, an engineer from Hampton, voted for Mr.聽Trump 鈥渂ecause he did a really good job the first time. ... We need a businessman, not bureaucrats.鈥澛�

Ms.聽Haley鈥檚 path to becoming the GOP standard-bearer is narrowing quickly. She won鈥檛 compete in a contest that awards delegates until South Carolina鈥檚 Feb. 24 primary, bypassing the Feb. 8 Nevada caucuses that are widely seen as favoring Mr.聽Trump.

As South Carolina鈥檚 former governor, Ms.聽Haley is hoping a strong showing there could propel her into the March 5聽Super Tuesday聽contests. But in a deeply conservative state where Mr.聽Trump is exceedingly popular, those ambitions may be tough to realize and a home-state loss could prove politically devastating.

On the Democratic side, Mr.聽Biden聽won his party鈥檚 primary聽but had to do so via a write-in effort. The Democratic National Committee voted to start its primary next month in South Carolina, but New Hampshire pushed ahead with its own contest. Mr.聽Biden didn鈥檛 campaign or appear on the ballot but beat a series of little-known challengers.

Mr.聽Trump鈥檚 early sweep through the Republican primary is remarkable considering he faces聽91 criminal charges聽related to everything from seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election to mishandling classified documents and arranging payoffs to a porn actress. He left the White House in 2021 in the grim aftermath of an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol led by his supporters who sought to stop the certification of Mr.聽Biden鈥檚 win. And Mr.聽Trump was the first president to be impeached twice.

Beyond the political vulnerabilities associated with the criminal cases, Mr.聽Trump faces a logistical challenge in balancing trials and campaigning. He has frequently appeared voluntarily at a New York courtroom where a jury is considering whether he should聽pay additional damages聽to a columnist who last year won a $5 million jury award against Mr.聽Trump for sex abuse and defamation.聽

But Mr.聽Trump has turned those vulnerabilities into an advantage among GOP voters. He has argued that the criminal prosecutions reflect a politicized Justice Department, though there鈥檚 no evidence that officials there were pressured by Mr.聽Biden or anyone else in the White House to file charges.

Mr.聽Trump has also repeatedly told his supporters that he鈥檚 being prosecuted on their behalf, an argument that appears to have further strengthened his bond with the GOP base.

As Mr.聽Trump begins to pivot his attention to Mr.聽Biden and a general election campaign, the question is whether the former president鈥檚 framing of the legal cases will persuade voters beyond the GOP base. Mr.聽Trump lost the popular vote in the 2016 and 2020 elections and has faced particular struggles in suburban communities from Georgia to Pennsylvania to Arizona that could prove decisive in the fall campaign.

Mr.聽Trump聽traveled frequently to New Hampshire聽in the months leading up to the primary but didn鈥檛 spend as much time in the state as many of his rivals. Rather than the traditional approach of greeting voters personally or in small groups, Mr.聽Trump has staged large rallies. He has spent much of his time complaining about the past 鈥� including the聽lie that the 2020 election was stolen聽due to widespread voter fraud.

If he returns to the White House, the former president has promised to enact a hardline immigration agenda that includes stopping migrants from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and聽reimposing his first-term travel ban聽that originally targeted seven Muslim-majority countries. He鈥檚 also said the聽rising number of immigrants聽entering the United States are 鈥減oisoning the blood of our country,鈥澛�.

Mr.聽Biden faces his own challenges. There are widespread concerns about his age at 81 years old. Dissent is also building within his party over Mr.聽Biden鈥檚 alliance with Israel in its war against Hamas, putting the president鈥檚 standing at risk in swing states like Michigan. A rally he held in northern Virginia on Tuesday to promote abortion rights 鈥� an issue his party sees as critical to success in November 鈥� was disrupted repeatedly by protests over U.S. military support for Israel. One person shouted 鈥渟hame on you!鈥�

Durwood Sargent of Bow cast a write-in vote for Mr.聽Biden, saying he wasn鈥檛 offended that the president kept his name off the ballot due to the dispute over the primary calendar.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not a big deal. They鈥檝e made a big deal out of it. The president鈥檚 got a country to run,鈥� Mr. Sargent said.

This article is by The Associated Press. Jill Colvin reported from Londonderry, New Hampshire. Will Weissert reported from Washington. The AP鈥檚 Bill Barrow in Atlanta, Joseph Frederick in Franklin, New Hampshire, and Mike Pesoli in Laconia, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.