Nikki Haley wins 150K votes in PA Republican primary despite dropping out

Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley took a bite out of the GOP primary voter base in Pennsylvania — despite dropping out over a month ago.

Haley won just under 157,000 votes in the Pennsylvania Republican primary election on Tuesday, according to early reports.

That equates to approximately 17% support with 90% of votes already cast.

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Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and 2024 Republican presidential candidate, speaks during an election night watch party in Charleston, South Carolina. (Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Former President Trump, the only Republican candidate left in the primary field, won the primary with over 80% of votes cast.

Pennsylvania operates on a closed primary election system, meaning voters can only vote in the election of their own party’s nominee.

Haley’s sizable chunk of the electorate is surprising to election researchers as the former ambassador to the United Nations dropped out of the race following Super Tuesday at the beginning of March.

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Former President Trump pumps his fist as he arrives for a GOP fundraiser in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

It raises questions about Pennsylvania voters’ approval of Trump as the presumptive presidential nominee.

The Keystone State looks headed for another tight race as President Biden and Trump are in a dead heat in the latest Fox News survey of Pennsylvania voters.

The survey of registered voters, released Thursday, found the former and current presidents tied at 48% each, a slight improvement for Biden, who was down by 2 percentage points in March.

President Biden speaks during a campaign event in Scranton, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Trump won Pennsylvania by less than a point in 2016, and Biden reclaimed by just over a point in 2020.

Fox News Digital’s Victoria Balara contributed to this report.

Timothy Nerozzi is a writer for Fox News Digital. You can follow him on Twitter @timothynerozzi and can email him at timothy.nerozzi@fox.com

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