PETERBOROUGH, N.H. — Nikki Haley tried to minimize the lack of support she's getting from her home state of South Carolina, attributing it to her tough approach to Congress.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), who was appointed to the House of Representatives in 2013, endorsed his opponent, former President Donald Trump, this week.
South Carolina's Republican governor, Henry McMaster, 76, has also previously supported Trump and was scheduled to face him in Manchester on Saturday night.
“In South Carolina, I don't see much support from the Legislature. The reason is that I don't have to put my vote on the record against their will. It's been documented,'' Haley told reporters during a brief chat after the event at the Monadnock Historical and Cultural Center.
Haley during her early tenure as governor of South Carolina. signed bill Require members to take more recorded votes.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' campaign said Haley received 74 votes, but only 14 were endorsed by current or former state legislators.
“I forced them to pass ethics reform, even if they didn't want to,” she continued, boasting about vetoing spending items. “There's a reason why the South Carolina Legislature has no love for me.”
On Friday, Scott wholeheartedly supported Trump, saying “we need a president who will unite the country” and praising Trump's policies, including on the border issue.
After briefly commenting on Scott's support for Trump, Haley moved on to the lack of support from the South Carolina congressman.
“I'm disappointed, of course I'm disappointed. He has to accept that decision. He doesn't have to accept that decision,” she lamented.
Asked about McMaster's stumbles with Trump, Haley talked about their history.
“I'm sorry, is that the person I ran for governor and won? I'm just checking,” she chided.
McMaster ran for governor of South Carolina in 2010, but lost to Haley. After she took over her reign, Haley gave him a post at the South Carolina Port Authority. He then won the lieutenant governor election in 2014.
After Haley resigned as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in 2017, McMaster ascended to the governor's mansion.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who supported Haley and gagged her, quipped: “Another nearly 80-year-old man trying to influence us.”
Haley is supported by Rep. Ralph Norman (R-South Carolina), with whom she has campaigned in states such as Iowa.
And with her aspirations for changes like term limits, demands for mental competency tests, and threats to cut her salary if she doesn't pass a budget, lawmakers are desperate to give her their official stamp of approval. He claimed that on time.
“I criticize elected officials because accountability is important,” Haley said. “So if Donald Trump wants all the politicians to go, and they all want to go, they can do it, but that's all I'm fighting for.”
DeSantis appears to have set his sights on South Carolina as he looks for a breakthrough to get his 2024 candidacy back on track. He stumbled Saturday in the Palmetto State, not New Hampshire.
Haley was bullish about his future in South Carolina.
“First of all, I was a Tea Party governor,” she said, before launching into a list of some of her accomplishments. “We made South Carolina proud again and turned it into a beast of the South.”
“I've won South Carolina twice, twice. I know the people of South Carolina are tough. They want to see you earn it,” she continued. . “I'll do it like I did it twice before.”
In South Carolina, Trump won an overwhelming 52% of the vote, followed by Haley with 21.8% and DeSantis with 11%. Latest RealClearPolitics tally.
South Carolina's Republican primary is scheduled for February 24, nearly a month after the Granite State election.
Haley is betting heavily on a strong showing in New Hampshire to emerge as the Republican nominee.
