As the last major challenger in 鈥榮 way to the Republican nomination, is hoping New Hampshire voters feel so strongly about keeping the former president away from the White House that they turn out to support her in large numbers.
鈥淎merica does not do coronations,鈥� Haley said at a VFW hall in Franklin, joined by her daughter and son-in-law. 鈥淟et鈥檚 show all of the media class and the political class that we鈥檝e got a different plan in mind, and let鈥檚 show the country what we can do.鈥�
It鈥檚 an uphill battle for the former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor. Most conservatives want to give Trump another chance at beating President Joe Biden and .
With voting about to begin in New Hampshire, . Polls in New Hampshire suggest he leads Haley in a state , though his lead is narrower than the 30-point blowout he scored in the Iowa caucuses.
Trump planned to hold his last rally before the election Monday night. He started the day in New York for his after an earlier jury determined he had sexually abused a columnist in the 1990s, but the session was canceled .
Trump was being joined on stage Monday night by three of his former opponents who have now endorsed him: South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. The show of force is part of a broader effort by Trump鈥檚 team to lock up the primary and demonstrate the party is rallying around him.
In an interview with 亚洲天堂max taped Sunday, Trump was asked if he would call for Haley to drop out.
鈥淲ell, I would never call for it, but perhaps she should,鈥� he said. He called New Hampshire 鈥渁 special place for me,鈥� noting his win in the 2016 primary. 鈥淚 love this state.鈥�
On paper, Trump had seemed more vulnerable in New Hampshire than in any other early voting state on the primary calendar. Though voters here supported him by a wide margin in 2016, the state has long been known for its moderate tradition, including allowing unaffiliated voters to participate in GOP primaries. And Haley had been on the rise, prompting Trump鈥檚 campaign and its allies to spend millions trying to blunt her momentum.
Thalia Flores, a former Democrat who manages retail stores, changed her voter registration to undeclared last fall and plans to vote in New Hampshire鈥檚 Republican presidential primary against Trump. She says she would support Haley over President Joe Biden if given the chance, even though she has never before voted for a Republican presidential candidate.
But she said she was worried the primary was 鈥渁 long shot鈥� with not enough support for Haley among traditional conservatives to beat Trump.
鈥淲hat do the Republicans want?鈥� Flores asked at a packed Haley rally over the weekend. 鈥淎re they diehard Trump or do they want the White House?鈥�
turned the state into the one-on-one contest between Trump and Haley that she and a long line of anti-Trump Republicans had said they wanted.
But some evidence suggests Trump could be better positioned to capitalize on DeSantis鈥� exit than Haley. According to AP VoteCast, DeSantis supporters in Iowa overwhelmingly described themselves as conservative and Trump outperformed Haley 53% to 13% among that group.
DeSantis immediately endorsed Trump upon dropping out, saying it was clear to him Republican voters preferred the former president.
Never before has a presidential candidate won primary contests in both Iowa and New Hampshire and failed to secure the party鈥檚 presidential nomination.
鈥淚f she doesn鈥檛 win here, there鈥檚 no path for her whatsoever going forward,鈥� said James Blair, national field director for the Trump campaign. 鈥淩epublicans control the nominating process. They are with Donald Trump, growing every day. We see consolidation all over the place since Iowa.鈥�
To help get out the vote, Trump鈥檚 team says it has amassed a team of 2,000 active volunteers, including 250 town captains throughout the state.
Trump鈥檚 campaign was confident about New Hampshire long before DeSantis鈥� exit. Officials point to public polls showing Trump with a big lead over Haley.
鈥淚f it鈥檚 a double-digit win, then, I mean, that is a New Hampshire blowout of epic proportions, especially given all of the time and money she spent here,鈥� Blair said.
Haley鈥檚 campaign has been lowering expectations for New Hampshire after insisting for weeks that an outright victory against Trump was possible.
鈥淏eating Donald Trump is not easy. He is a juggernaut,鈥� Haley campaign manager Betsy Ankney said at a weekend event hosted by Bloomberg. 鈥淏ut how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. We have to continue to show incremental growth and progress. We are the last man 鈥� woman 鈥� standing against him.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 confidence comes even as influential Republicans in the state like New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu warn of dire political consequences.
鈥淩epublicans are tired of losing. We鈥檙e tired of losers. We鈥檙e tired of Donald Trump,鈥� Sununu told roughly 500 Haley supporters gathered in the state鈥檚 largest city over the weekend.
On Monday, Haley spoke on New Hampshire Today with host Chris Ryan and compared Trump to Biden, bringing up how Trump has confused her with former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, mistakenly said he ran against former President Barack Obama, and warned about Biden leading the country into World War II, which was fought between 1939 and 1945.
鈥淲hen you have two 80-year-olds running for president, you are going to see decline,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 natural. It鈥檚 what happens.鈥�
Still, the tens of thousands of voters who have packed into Trump鈥檚 New Hampshire rallies in recent days don鈥檛 seem to be worried and he makes little effort to lower expectations.
Eric Holmstrom, a 43-year-old Republican from Goffstown who supports Trump, said he sees the former president鈥檚 back-and-forth travel from the courtroom to campaign events as a sign of why he鈥檚 the best person to be the party鈥檚 nominee.
鈥淚 mean, this guy鈥檚 stamina is unmatched. And that鈥檚 鈥� we need strength,鈥� Holmstrom said. 鈥淲e need unity. We need strength. And we need stamina. And right now, the unity isn鈥檛 there but it鈥檚 happening.鈥�
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