Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) has endorsed former President Donald Trump as his presidential candidate of choice, after seeing President Trump secure two strong victories in the first two Republican primaries.
The Louisiana Republican said that he had waited with his endorsement to see where the chips would fall. The former president’s clear victory in the New Hampshire primary told him all he needed to know, he wrote on X.
“Competition makes us all better, so I let the primary play out, but this thing’s over,” Mr. Kennedy said. “It’s going to be President Trump versus President Biden: A choice between hope and more hurt. It’s not even close. I choose hope. I am endorsing Pres. Trump and look forward to working with him.”
Mr. Kennedy’s endorsement comes three weeks after that of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and a few months after House Speaker Mike Johnson gave President Trump the nod. Both Representatives are also Louisiana Republicans.
“American families and workers deserve a president who will stand up for them and their safety, rescue us from failed Bidenomics, and restore our nation to greatness,” Mr. Scalise said when he announced his endorsement.
“In this race, there is one man who has a proven track record of being able to save our country and get us back on track: Donald Trump. He has done it once before, and I know he will do it again.”
A record 315,000 voters came out for the New Hampshire primary, a milestone in a state renowned for its high voter turnout for presidential primaries.
The state is also known for having a large number of independent voters, a group former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley had been hoping would propel her to a surprise victory. However, the primary voters cast 54.3 percent of their votes for President Trump and only 43.4 percent for Ms. Haley, earning them 12 and 9 delegates, respectively.
Ms. Haley said she has no plans to drop out of the race, announcing that she’ll double her efforts to secure voters ahead of the primary in her home state of South Carolina next month.
After the primary coverage on Tuesday, Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said on Fox News that Ms. Haley should drop out and support her opponent as the GOP presidential nominee.
“Looking at the math and the path going forward, and I don’t see it for Nikki Haley. I think she ran a great campaign. The message from the voters is clear,” said Ms. McDaniel.
“We need to unite around our eventual nominee, which is going to be Donald Trump. We need to be sure we beat Joe Biden. It’s 10 months away until the November election. We can’t wait any longer to put our foot on the gas to beat the worst president, who kept our borders opened and allowed fentanyl to pour through and allowed rampant inflation.”
