Nikki Haley tamps down expectations for beating Trump in New Hampshire primary

AMHERST, New Hampshire — Four days before the critical New Hampshire primary, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is lowering expectations for how well she will do in the battle against her onetime boss, former President Donald Trump.

For months, Haley had signaled New Hampshire was the early nominating state that would boost her campaign into South Carolina’s Feb. 24 primary.

But after a disappointing third-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, Haley and key allies such as Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) are lowering expectations for next Tuesday.

At a get-out-the-vote event at Mary Ann’s Diner in Amherst, New Hampshire, on Friday, Haley now has a more tempered tune.

“I said I wanted to be strong in Iowa. I feel like we did that. We started at 2%, we ended with 20%. I was happy with it. I said we want to be stronger in New Hampshire — we’re going to do that,” Haley told reporters during a gaggle. “We don’t know what stronger is until the numbers come in.”

Republican presidential candidate former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley visits Newfields Country Store during a campaign stop, Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, in Newfields, New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

The former president steamrolled his competitors in Iowa by 30 percentage points and currently leads Haley in New Hampshire polls 46.8% to 33.3%. Yet without winning the Granite State’s primary, Haley’s campaign could be in danger as the path forward appears unclear.

In South Carolina, her home state and an early nominating state, Trump is also leading Haley 52% to 22% in polling.

Donors have already begun pressuring Haley to block Trump from a second win in the primary or risk losing their financial backing. Haley, though, says her campaign won’t end if she loses to Trump in New Hampshire.

“What I’ll tell you is I know y’all want to talk about states that are going on. The candidate — me — is taking it one state at a time,” she told reporters.

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“We are going to South Carolina. We’re going to be strong in South Carolina. The road is never going to stop here in New Hampshire,” she said. “That’s always been the plan. Strong in Iowa, stronger in New Hampshire, and even stronger in South Carolina.”

Sununu, who is stumping with Haley in New Hampshire, also sought to limit expectations for Haley. He told ABC Nightline co-anchor Byron Pitts on Wednesday that Haley “always wanted to have a strong second,” just one month after claiming Haley could win the Granite State.

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Just after Haley gaggled with reporters, news broke that Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) would endorse Trump at a rally Friday night. Haley didn’t take questions as she left the diner, but moments before, she had this to say about how well she would do on Tuesday.

“I don’t ever talk about coming up short or winning if you notice that. I’ve done neither one and I’m not going to until Election Day. That’s the only poll that matters,” Haley said.

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