New Hampshire holds the nation's first primary on Tuesday in what may be the last chance for the Republican Party to stop Donald Trump from losing the nomination, as Nikki Haley chases the Granite State's upset.
Eight days after the former president's record victory in the Iowa caucuses, she is now embroiled in an increasingly bitter showdown with Haley, who has staked her candidacy on a strong showing in the more moderate New Hampshire state. There is. Former Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis withdrew from the race on Sunday, joining the ranks of Republican officials solidifying their support for Trump.
Trump leads by double digits, but is considered more vulnerable in a state where independent voters make up nearly 40% of the electorate and can choose to vote for either party in the primary. There is.
“We're always going against the trend in New Hampshire,” the state's Republican governor, Chris Sununu, told voters as he accompanied Haley across the state on the eve of the election.
Sununu, one of the few remaining Trump critics in the party, said an endorsement in New Hampshire would allow him to enter next month's race in South Carolina. He suggested Haley could win outright in the primary. She has tempered her expectations in recent days, arguing that she has already exceeded her expectations as the only remaining candidate in the primary race against President Trump.
Republicans are expecting record turnout and good weather, a potential boon for Haley, who relies heavily on voters who don't normally participate in party primaries.
For Haley, there is no greater risk. She's crisscrossing the state “from the suburbs to the coast,” trying to convince anti-Trump independents and liberal conservatives to support her long-term goals.
Mr. Trump, by contrast, has been traveling in and out of the state, holding raucous evening rallies between court appearances. New Hampshire boosted Trump, who finished second in the Iowa caucuses, to the Republican nomination in 2016. This year, Trump hopes to win enough to effectively eliminate Haley's campaign.
Haley has carefully avoided Trump for much of her nearly year-long campaign, instead calling for a “new generation” of leadership in Washington and a proposal to introduce cognitive tests for older politicians. It drew an implicit contrast. But in the final days before the New Hampshire primary, she pursued him more aggressively, questioning his mental state and accusing him of colluding with dictators and dictators.
President Trump responded with insults and misrepresentations, accusing his campaign of relying on the support of “globalists” and liberals to win. In a series of ugly social media posts, she revisited her birtherism conspiracy that she was not eligible to be president because her parents were not U.S. citizens when she was born. This is incorrect. Haley, who was born in South Carolina and is the daughter of Indian immigrants, is also eligible. President Trump also appeared to mock her Indian descent by referring to her real name, Nimalata, and misspelling her. Haley always goes by her middle name, Nikki.
Haley and her friends insist she has a path forward, even if she doesn't pull off an upset. It would be enough to improve on his third-place finish at Iowa State. But if he can't win in New Hampshire, where voters are seen as far more favorable to his brand of Republican Party, analysts say it will be difficult to sell to voters and donors that he can win anywhere else. do.
Haley is planning a rally in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday night. This will begin with a $4 million investment in television, radio and digital advertising that will be broadcast throughout South Carolina.
Democrats will hold their primary again on Tuesday, but Joe Biden's name will not appear on the ballot. Voter turnout is expected to be low, but Democrats will choose between Democratic Congressman Dean Phillips of Minnesota and Marianne Williamson, an author and self-help guru who ran for president in 2020. You get to choose whether to vote. Residents of the state urged Democrats to write Biden's name on their ballots.
