US elections: Nikki Haley won't quit Republican race, insists can defeat Trump after New Hampshire loss

Nikki Haley, after finishing in second place behind former US president Donald Trump in the New Hampshire primary, refused to exit the Republican race and insisted on defeating Trump in polls ahead.

The governor of South Carolina took the pledge to move forward with her plan to carry out a rally in her home state and insisted that she still had a path.

“I have news for all of them. New Hampshire is first in the nation. It is not the last,” said Haley, to the cheering audience. “This race is far from over. There are dozens of states left to go, and the next one is my sweet state of South Carolina," said the former United Nations ambassador

"I'm a fighter. And I'm scrappy. And now we're the last one standing next to Donald Trump," said the Indian-American leader.

Haley further argued that her path to beat Trump is an incremental one and further threw bombs at Trump and his electability.

“With Donald Trump, Republicans have lost almost every competitive election. We lost the Senate. We lost the House. We lost the White House. We lost in 2018. We lost in 2020, and we lost in 2022,” said Haley.

“The worst-kept secret in politics is how badly the Democrats want to run against Donald Trump. They know Trump is the only Republican in the country who Joe Biden can defeat," she added.

Even before the results came, Haley's supporters and allies insisted that it had all expectations of moving ahead.

Haley challenges Trump for debate

Reacting further to the defeat in New Hampshire, Haley challenged Trump to a debate.

“The other day Donald Trump accused me of not providing security at the Capitol on January 6th. Now, I've longed called for mental competency tests for politicians over the age of 75...he should have no problem standing on a debate stage with me," said Haley.

Watch:US Elections: Donald Trump wins Republican primary in New Hampshire

Taking the theme again on Tuesday (Jan 23), she said that the country needs to appoint someone in the White House who can invest eight years to bring it back on track. "Do you want two 80-year-olds running for president?" quipped Haley.

Meanwhile, Democrat from Minnesota Rep Dean Phillips also took the vow of continuing his presidential campaign after defeat in the New Hampshire primary.

"Your votes tonight were the most meaningful votes you've ever cast in your life, and I'll make that promise to you," said Phillips, while addressing supporters on Tuesday evening in New Hampshire.

(With inputs from agencies)