Exeter, New Hampshire – Nikki Haley reacted to the roar of a New Hampshire crowd as she took to the stage at her first rally since her rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Ron DeSantis, withdrew from the race.
“Can you hear that?” she told supporters Sunday night in a historic town on the New Hampshire coast. That's the sound of two people racing.
Haley, a former South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador under former President Donald Trump, views the Republican nomination race as a showdown between herself and Trump.
DeSantis suspended her campaign on Sunday, leaving Haley and Trump as the only two major candidates on the eve of the New Hampshire primary.
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Republican presidential candidate and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley speaks at a campaign event at Exeter High School on Sunday, January 21, 2024 in Exeter, New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
But most polls show Ms. Haley still holding a double-digit lead over Mr. Trump with hours left until voting begins in New Hampshire.
Trump, who is running for the White House for the third time in a row, has 57% approval in a daily tracking poll released Monday morning by Suffolk University, the Boston Globe and Boston's NBC10, and Haley. It is 38%. The resignation of Mr. DeSantis, who was a distant third in single digits in New Hampshire, resulted in a two-point difference between the two candidates.
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The poll was conducted on Saturday and Sunday night, before and after Florida's governor resigned and endorsed Trump.
Trump held a similar lead in a Monmouth University/Washington Post poll conducted Jan. 16-20. The former president's approval rating was 52%, Haley's 34% and DeSantis' 8%.
A poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire and CNN from January 16 to 19 also showed Trump's approval rating rising by double digits, with the former president at 50%, Haley at 39%, and DeSantis at 6%. .
Trump won a convincing victory last Monday night in the low-turnout Iowa caucuses, the first race on the Republican presidential nomination calendar. He received 51% of the vote, 30 points ahead of DeSantis and Haley.
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“I think we'll get a similar result here in Iowa last week,” the former president told supporters at a rally in Rochester, New Hampshire, on Tuesday night, predicting an even bigger victory on Tuesday.
But New Hampshire is a state where independent voters, who make up about 40% of the electorate, can vote for either major party and have long played an influential role in the state's prestigious presidential primaries, Haley said. It may be fertile ground for
Republican presidential candidate and former President Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Rochester Opera House on January 21, 2024 in Rochester, New Hampshire. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The latest polls show Trump with an edge among registered Republicans, and Haley with a majority of support among independents. But Republicans are more likely to vote in Tuesday's Republican primary than independents.
Jim Merrill, a veteran Republican consultant based in New Hampshire, told Fox News that DeSantis' withdrawal from the race “reduces Haley's margin for error here. Most of DeSantis' voters… “A lot, if not more, will go to Trump. So this is extremely important for her.” The goal is to do well in New Hampshire and gain momentum heading into South Carolina.”
Mike Dennehy, a longtime Republican strategist based in New Hampshire, was more blunt.
“I think this puts the nail in her coffin,” he said of Hailey. “I don't think she'll be able to stay below 50%, and I think it's very likely Trump will reach 60% on Tuesday. That would spell the end for Haley's campaign and effectively seal the deal with Trump. There will be an agreement.'' Nominated. “
Former Governor Nikki Haley and former President Trump are ramping up their attacks on each other ahead of New Hampshire's primary. (Michael M. Santiago/Al Drago/Bloomberg)
Haley clearly doesn't think that way.
In a one-on-one interview with Fox News Digital on Sunday night, Haley said her message to DeSantis voters is: “It's time for a new generation. It's time to stop the chaos. It's time to stop the noise. has arrived,” he said. Get America back on track. ”
She also vowed to “absolutely” advance to the Feb. 24 South Carolina primary regardless of the outcome in New Hampshire.
Haley's home state will host the next major race on the Republican presidential nomination calendar.
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At Sunday night's rally, Haley again touted polls showing her defeating President Biden by a larger margin than President Trump in a hypothetical general election matchup.
A Marist College poll released Friday found Haley outperforming Biden over Trump and DeSantis in a hypothetical general election showdown in November in the key battleground state of New Hampshire. It has been shown that they are achieving results.
According to the poll, Ms. Haley has a 3-point lead over Mr. Biden, and the president has a 7-point lead over Mr. Trump.
But Real Clear Politics' average of the latest national polls of potential Biden-Haley showdowns show Haley leading the president by 1.1 percentage points.
The same average for the rematch between Biden and Trump would suggest a two-point advantage for the former president over the incumbent.
Get the latest on the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more with Fox News Digital's Election Hub.
