Top three moments of Nikki Haley’s campaign in 2023

Former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley commenced her presidential campaign by calling for a generational change in the GOP at an announcement speech in Charleston, South Carolina, in February.

It was a subtle jab not just at 77-year-old former President Donald Trump but also at 81-year-old President Joe Biden. It was also an explicit contrast with the 51-year-old Haley, who is a generation younger than the two leaders of the major presidential candidates.

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The comments were a signal that Haley was willing to take on Trump, her former boss. Haley was the first member of Trump’s Cabinet to challenge him for the nomination, followed by former Vice President Mike Pence, who would end his campaign in late October after failing to convince voters to abandon Trump.

The former president remains the 2024 Republican front-runner, but Haley, once mired in the low single digits, has shot up to second place in some early nominating states polls, a sign that the former South Carolina governor may be catching spark with voters who want to move beyond Trump.

Here are the top three moments from Haley’s campaign in 2023.

Haley surges to No. 2 in New Hampshire and boosts her viability as Trump alternative

After a breakout performance during the first GOP debate on Aug. 23, Haley began to see a greater increase in attention from the media, donors, and Republican voters.

By Sept. 24, three days before the second debate in Simi Valley, California, Haley at 11% had even overtaken fellow rivals Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) at 10% and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 10% for second place in a RealClearPolitics poll average of New Hampshire voters. She has firmly remained in second place in the New Hampshire poll behind Trump since then.

Robert F. Bukaty/AP

Other subsequent polls show Haley tying or beating DeSantis in their race to become the top non-Trump candidate in the race. A Wall Street Journal poll conducted days before the fourth GOP primary debate earlier this month saw Haley at 15% overtake DeSantis at 14%, while Trump dominated at 59%.

The Granite State is the second nominating contest of the Republican primary season taking place on Jan. 23, just eight days after the Iowa caucuses. Christie had forsaken campaigning in Iowa, choosing to double down in New Hampshire. But Haley’s rise has threatened DeSantis’s and Christie’s precarious path to emerge as the next GOP standard-bearer.

In particular, Haley and DeSantis, once seen as the heir apparent to Trump, have harshly attacked one another over Israel’s war against Hamas, their dealings with China, transgender surgeries, and their stances on Social Security. Another sign that Haley’s rise could be more serious than thought: Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc., released its first negative ad against Haley on Dec. 19, airing in New Hampshire and the Boston media market.

Gov. Chris Sununu endorses Haley

As Trump and DeSantis are battling out who will win the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, Haley achieved a feat that could be the coup de grace to Christie’s presidential ambitions.

The highly popular and influential Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) snubbed Christie when he endorsed Haley for the nomination in mid-December, claiming she was “the candidate with the momentum to win and get our party back on track to delivering conservative victories across the country.”

Sununu had signaled he would work on behalf of another candidate besides Trump to gain the nomination when he ruled out his own 2024 run. Sununu’s anti-Trump posturing could have been a boost to Christie, whose acrimonious attacks against Trump have been a feature of his campaign.

But as Sununu and Haley went on a media blitz in the days following the endorsement, it further cemented the New Hampshire governor’s blessing upon Haley as the non-Trump candidate in the field.

Haley takes down Vivek Ramaswamy at debate(s)

The first GOP debate in Milwaukee on Aug. 23 saw Haley viciously lambasting Ramaswamy over his foreign policy credentials. In a breakout moment during the debate, Haley pounced on Ramaswamy’s desire to cede Ukrainian territory to Russia to cast herself as tough on President Vladimir Putin.

“This guy is a murderer, and you are choosing a murderer,” Haley said about Ramaswamy’s stance, in which he would push for Russia to sever ties with China in exchange for the land. “Under your watch, you will make America less safe. You have no foreign policy experience, and it shows.”

The sharp exchanges saw Haley win applause from wide swaths of the party who had underestimated the former South Carolina governor. Her campaign bragged that it received more online grassroots donations in the first 24 hours after the debate than in any other single day of the campaign at that moment.

At the second debate on Sept. 27, Haley ripped Ramaswamy over his use of TikTok given its ties to the Chinese Communist Party, an “adversary” Haley has blasted on the campaign trail. “TikTok is one of the most dangerous social media assets that we could have,” she said. “Honestly, every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say.”

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Haley would attack Ramaswamy again over TikTok during the third debate on Nov. 8 in Miami. As Ramaswamy was defending his use of TikTok, he pointed to Haley’s daughter’s use of the social media platform. The comments prompted a sharp response from Haley. “Leave my daughter out of your voice,” Haley said. “You’re just scum.”

Amid the four GOP debates, Haley saw her poll numbers rise, while Ramaswamy, once seen as a soaring candidate in the field, has seen his numbers plummet.