That's About It for the Republican Primary

Well well well, if it isn't the thing everyone predicted over a year ago...

You did it girl! You lost! Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Nikki Haley lost to Donald Trump in the New Hampshire primary last night, getting a respectable 43.3 percent of the vote to Trump’s 54.4 percent. Respectable! Not bad! At least that’s how Haley’s portraying it. She almost did it, but didn’t!

The problem is things almost certainly aren’t going to get any better for her from here on out. New Hampshire is often a bellwether state in the primary cycle, where b-list candidates try to make a push and top contenders try to make a statement as to how the rest of the race is going to go. If this were a traditional primary, 43 percent in New Hampshire would mean you had a fighting chance at other states, that with a few strategic dropouts from rivals or key endorsements you could build the momentum to take the nomination. The problem as we all know is that there is no one else still standing. It’s just her and Trump, who is beating her by double digits everywhere down the line and will now spend the next month mercilessly ridiculing her until the South Carolina primary. She has pledged to stick it out until then but we all know where this is going. It’s over. It’s done.

Sure, me and the rest of the media and basically everyone who is not a die-hard Haleyhead could be wrong. She could theoretically gain traction or Trump could get sick or he could get legitimately arrested for like, accidentally backing over Baron in the campaign bus because he insisted on driving and is never completely sure whether or not his seven-foot-tall son exists. But aside from that, both the Democratic and the Republican primaries are basically wrapped up ten months away from the election and the only remaining question is “Now what?”