Haley attracts more than 150K votes in Pennsylvania GOP primary, weeks after dropping bid

Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley received more than 150,000 votes in the Pennsylvania GOP primary Tuesday despite having dropped out of the race almost two months ago. 

The most recent election returns, from just after 9 a.m. EDT Wednesday, show Haley with nearly 157,000 votes, enough for 16.6 percent of the total, with 90 percent of votes cast counted.

Former President Trump still easily won the primary, with more than 80 percent of the vote as of the latest count, and he will win all of Pennsylvania’s delegates in the winner-take-all primary. But Haley’s total is still a significant amount for a candidate who has not been in the race since early March.

The former United Nations ambassador emerged as the last remaining rival to Trump in the Republican primaries after a much larger field narrowed to two candidates by January. But Haley was ultimately unable to overcome Trump’s lead, and she dropped out following Super Tuesday in March. 

Still, Haley appears to have reached or came close to 20 percent in several counties Tuesday. Her showing may not have significantly impacted Trump taking the state on his way to officially becoming the Republican nominee, especially as he became the presumptive nominee last month after clinching enough delegates.

But it could indicate a reason for concern in the general election, in which Pennsylvania is one of the key battleground states that could determine the winner of the Oval Office. The polling average of the state from Decision Desk HQ/The Hill has Trump ahead of President Biden in the state by just 0.4 percent, meaning every vote may have added importance there compared to many other states.

Haley has seen continued support over recent weeks in other states. She received more than 77,000 votes in the Georgia primary in March a few days after she dropped out, more than 150,000 votes, or almost 20 percent, in the Washington primary and more than 110,000 votes in the Arizona primary.