DES MOINES, Iowa — Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley got a lot of help this week in her meteoric rise to draw political blood from former President Donald Trump in the nation's first New Hampshire primary.
With former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie dropping out of the race on Wednesday, Haley's team is scrambling to solidify the former U.N. ambassador's anti-Trump base for the Jan. 23 campaign.
“It's been clear for some time that this is a competition between Nikki Haley's vision of a strong and proud America and Donald Trump's obsession with the turmoil and drama of the past,” Haley said. 's spokeswoman, Annmarie Graham-Burns, told the Post.
“She doesn't take her voters for granted and she's not about to ease off on the gas.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken a different stance, hoping to defeat Haley's New Hampshire strategy with a strong showing in Monday's Iowa caucuses.
But of the two major candidates other than Trump, Haley's prospects are brighter, at least for now.
Christie's withdrawal follows weeks of efforts by Haley's allies to keep him out of the race on the premise that his exit would best serve his mission to defeat Trump. be.
Polling data has long shown that the majority of Christie's New Hampshire voters follow Haley. for example, Recent Emerson College Poll/WHDH Survey They concluded that 52% of Granite State Christie voters chose Haley as their second choice.
But for now, it's still woefully insufficient to close the gap.
In New Hampshire, Trump has an average approval rating of 43.5%, followed by Haley at 29.3% and Christie at 11.3%. According to the latest RealClearPolitics tally..
Even if all of Christie's voters supported Haley, which is a big assumption, she would still have a low approval rating based on RCP averages.
Asked about the possibility of Christie dropping out and Haley taking the lead, Trump campaign spokesman Stephen Chan told the Post that “paranoia can make people think crazy ideas.” .
there's no water under the bridge
Christie appears to have the same outlook as Chan, at least if his comments on the hot mic before announcing his expulsion are any indication.
“She's going to be smoked,” Christie said Wednesday. “And you and I both know that. She doesn't mean it.”
Christie has made similar comments publicly, telling The View last week: at the right time. ”
Additionally, before Christie dropped out, Christie and DeSantis blasted Haley for a series of gaffes on the campaign trail, including refusing to say that slavery was the main cause of the Civil War.
Mr. Christie had the highest negative rating of any Republican candidate in most polls, largely due to his vocal criticism of Mr. Trump.
The Garden Stater refuses to support him, but publicly supporting Haley, even if he intended to do so, could put her in trouble for him.
Why New Hampshire matters
It is believed that if Haley can prove her viability by performing well in the Granite State, voters may start paying more attention to her in subsequent elections.
Complicating the issue, New Hampshire allows independent voters to choose which primaries they want to participate in, which allows them to register for so-called “closed” primaries in other states. That could give the false impression that Haley has support among Republicans.
After New Hampshire, Haley chose to compete in the Nevada primary rather than the state party-sponsored caucus in Nevada, where actual delegates are allocated.
And in Haley's home state of South Carolina, where recent polls show Trump with a lead of more than 30 points, a primary will be held on February 24th.
Commitment from Trump supporters
“Chris Christie is radioactive among New Hampshire Republican primary voters.'' “This will lead to even more polarization, with a battle between the Democratic Party and Ms. Haley's D.C. Establishment base,” the Trump campaign said in a memo after Ms. Christie withdrew from the race.
The memo reflects consistent power dynamics in the campaign. While other candidates' events have a mix of die-hard fans and less-than-enthusiastic window shoppers, Trump supporters remain firmly focused and committed to their candidate.
At a recent Trump event in Iowa, attendee Jill Lowell erupted in mock excitement at the mention of Haley's name.
“Nikki Haley is funded by the 'Democratic Party'. They are funding her campaign,” she told the Post.
“She made statements last week that put Iowa to shame, saying New Hampshire was going to revise our decision,” Dan Hefanen agreed.
“I don't know exactly why she said that,” he added incredulously.
