Washington: Indian-American US presidential candidate Nikki Haley has claimed a surprising victory in the US state of Vermont marking her second victory in the primaries and her first in Super Tuesday.
Super Tuesday is a significant new phase of presidential primaries where the early contests are over and voters from numerous states simultaneously cast their ballots in primaries held on the same day.
According to US media, Haley leads former president Trump 49.9 per cent to 45.8 per cent with 98 per cent of the vote counted.
Meanwhile, 81-year-old US President Joe Biden from the Democratic Party and his Republican predecessor Donald Trump have swept in the primaries held in 15 states across the country, paving the way for a rematch between them in November.
Trump, 77, maintains a lead in every other state, likely making his way to the nomination. He prevailed in most of the Super Tuesday states which included California, Alabama, Texas, Colorado, North Carolina, Virginia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Maine, Utah, Minnesota and Arkansas.
Almost all the results were in favor of Trump except for Vermont. However, it will hardly do anything for Haley as the winning difference was about one per cent.
One of the two candidates from Republican party would need 1,215 delegates to win the Presidential nomination.
As of now, Trump has a strong lead against Haley with 893 delegates who just has 66 delegates on her side. Trump has a formidable delegate lead with 893 delegates, while Haley has 66.
