The first primary night following Donald Trump’s felony conviction highlighted that Republican voters still show significant support for the former presidential candidate, Nikki Haley.
Haley garnered nearly 8% of the vote in New Mexico’s GOP primary on Tuesday night, with an additional 3% voting uncommitted—a sign that Trump’s 2024 campaign still has lingering weaknesses.
Trump secured nearly 89% of the vote in the Montana GOP primary with 6% of votes counted, according to the Associated Press.
However, “no preference” earned over 10.3% of the vote with 24% of votes counted, raising concerns for Trump in red-leaning Montana. Trump’s “no preference” vote share even surpassed President Joe Biden’s 7.7% with about a third of the votes counted.
Last week, a 12-member New York jury found Trump guilty of 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records to cover up an affair with porn actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election.
The sentencing could carry up to four years in prison. Judge Juan Merchan set sentencing for July 11, just days before the Republican National Committee convention scheduled to begin on July 15.
Unlike Trump’s former rivals, Haley has not commented on Trump’s conviction, though some of her supporters hope she might reconsider entering the 2024 race.
Despite exiting the race the day after Super Tuesday, Haley has continued to achieve double digits in state primaries, amassing 97 delegates in the presidential race.
Last month, Haley won nearly 23% of the Maryland GOP primary, compared to Trump’s 77.3%. In ruby-red Nebraska, Haley won a little over 18% of the vote while Trump won nearly 80% of the vote.
Haley secured just a little over 9% of the vote in West Virginia, a Trump-friendly state, as the former president won 88.4%.
More concerning for Trump is Haley’s notable pull in key states that will decide the election.
In Pennsylvania, a state Trump lost in 2020, Haley pulled in more than 158,000 votes, or 16.6% of the vote. Haley won nearly 13% of the vote in Wisconsin, another battleground state, last month.
In Arizona, Haley won almost 18% of the GOP primary, and while she was still a presidential candidate she won almost 27% of the vote in Michigan.
After challenging Trump to win over her supporters during her concession speech, Haley later claimed she would vote for the former president in the November election.
This has not deterred the Biden campaign from holding meetings with Haley supporters in an effort to win their votes.
As Trump maintains his innocence and threatens to appeal the New York ruling, early polls show that voters who could sway the election seem to be moving away from Trump.
A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll showed 52% of independents believe Trump should suspend his campaign after the conviction, and 67% of “double haters”—those who dislike both Trump and Biden—also said Trump should suspend his campaign following the trial.
