[ad_1]
SALEM, N.H. – Nikki Haley, on the eve of New Hampshire’s Republican presidential primary, telling the overflow crowd in this border city with Massachusetts that “it’s almost Election Day. This is what we’ve been waiting for.”
“We’ve got a lot on the line here,” she emphasised.
With hours to go till the polls open, the former two-term South Carolina Gov. who later served as U.N. ambassador in Donald Trump’s administration was down by double digits in most of the public opinion surveys to the former president, who’s the commanding front-runner for the GOP nomination as he makes his third straight White House run.
But Haley pledged in interviews with Fox News Digital and on Fox News’ “The Story” that she’s transferring on to her house state no matter her end in New Hampshire. South Carolina’s Feb. 24 primary is the subsequent main contest in the GOP nominating calendar following Tuesday’s showdown in New Hampshire.
HALEY VS. TRUMP: WHERE THEY STAND IN THE FINAL POLLS AHEAD OF THE NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY
“This is a marathon. It’s not a sprint. The political and media elite say everybody needs to coalesce around Donald Trump,” Haley instructed Fox News’ Martha MacCallum on Monday in Franklin, New Hampshire. “We don’t believe in coronations in this country. We believe in democracy. I’m in this for the long haul.”
HALEY REVEALS HER PITCH TO DESANTIS SUPPORTERS
And hours earlier, in a Fox News Digital interview forward of her Sunday night time rally in Exeter, New Hampshire, Haley stated she’s”absolutely” persevering with on the marketing campaign path to South Carolina.”
“I can’t wait to ensure that we go and have that homecoming. And then I’m going to struggle daily to earn their assist. South Carolinians are good. They’re powerful. They count on you to do your homework,” she emphasized. “But I’ve received there twice. I do know what it takes to try this and we’ll do it once more.”
Republican presidential candidate and former UN Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event at Exeter High School in Exeter, N.H., Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Campaign manager Betsy Ankney told reporters on Saturday that Haley will hold a large event in her hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday, the same day that the campaign will launch a $4 million statewide ad blitz.
Trump scored a convincing victory in last Monday night’s low-turnout Iowa caucuses, the first contest on the GOP presidential nominating calendar. He grabbed 51% of the vote, 30 points ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who narrowly edged out Haley for second place.
DOWN AND OUT: WHAT WENT WRONG WITH THE DESANTIS CAMPAIGN
But DeSantis, a distant third and hovering in the single digits in New Hampshire polling, dropped out of the race on Sunday and endorsed Trump, leaving the former president and Haley as the remaining two major candidates in the 2024 Republican race.
The former president predicted another major win on Tuesday, telling supporters at a rally in Rochester, New Hampshire, on Sunday night that “I believe we’re going to have the identical form of outcome right here as we did final week in Iowa.”
However, New Hampshire — where independent voters who make up roughly 40% of the electorate can vote in either major party’s contest and have long played an influential role in the state’s storied presidential primary — may be fertile ground for Haley.
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump addresses a campaign rally at the Rochester Opera House on January 21, 2024 in Rochester, New Hampshire. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The latest surveys indicate Trump dominating among registered Republicans, with Haley grabbing majority support among independents. However, there are likely more Republicans than independents who will vote in Tuesday’s GOP primary.
Veteran New Hampshire-based Republican consultant Jim Merrill told Fox News that DeSantis’ departure from the race “narrows Haley’s margin for error right here. Many, if not most, of DeSantis voters are going to migrate over to Trump. And so it’s crucial for her to do effectively in New Hampshire to give her some momentum heading into South Carolina.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Mike Dennehy, another longtime New Hampshire-based GOP strategist, was more blunt.
“I believe it places a nail in her coffin,” he said of Haley. “I don’t suppose she’ll have the opportunity to preserve underneath 50%. And I believe there’s an excellent likelihood that Trump hits 60% on Tuesday, which can sign the finish of the Haley marketing campaign and just about seal the deal for the Trump nomination.”
Haley, publicly brushing off the polls, made a last minute pitch, telling her supporters at the primary eve event in Salem to “go to the polls tomorrow and take 5 folks with you.”
[ad_2]
Source hyperlink