Former President Donald Trump is flaunting confidence ahead of the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, predicting a big win over former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley as the contest largely shapes up to be a two-person race.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) abruptly exited the GOP primary over the weekend, leaving Haley as the lone challenger seeking to defeat Trump for the party’s nomination as all other previous candidates have largely fallen in line behind the former president. Trump has flexed that support in recent days, even telling reporters on Tuesday the head-to-head contest won’t be good news for Haley.
“I think it’s gonna hurt her,” Trump said. “[She’ll] probably have a big loss today, but who knows?”
Haley has long been framing the GOP primary as a two-way race between herself and Trump, even before her other challengers dropped their primary bids. The former South Carolina governor has touted her rise in the polls over the last several months as evidence of a surge, predicting a strong finish in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Now, with the field largely left to just her and Trump — as well as businessman Ryan Binkley, who has refused to suspend his campaign despite receiving only 0.7% of the vote in Iowa — Haley is seeking to manage the expectations she has set for herself.
For months, Haley has signaled New Hampshire would be the primary to boost her campaign. But since her third-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, Haley and her close allies have sought to lower expectations for Tuesday’s first-in-the-nation primary against Trump.
Trump holds a substantial lead ahead of the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, with polling averages showing the former president leading Haley 53.9% to 36.3%. New Hampshire’s primary holds significance for the presidential race as it typically garners the most media, pollster, and candidate attention and often serves as an indicator of how candidates will fare among national voters.
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However, Haley has maintained that she won’t drop out if she fails to win, indicating she’s in for the long haul — even looking ahead to Super Tuesday in early March.
“The political class and the media want to give Donald Trump a coronation. They say the race is over. They want to throw up their hands, after only 110,000 people have voted in a caucus in Iowa, and say, well, I guess it’s Trump,” Haley’s campaign said in a memo released just hours before polls closed in the Granite State. “And while members of Congress, the press, and many of the weak-kneed fellas who ran for president are giving up and giving in — we aren’t going anywhere.”