Presidential candidate Nikki Haley is banking on performing well in New Hampshire to carry her through South Carolina and the rest of the 2024 race.
New Hampshire could be Haley’s Holy Grail due to the share of independents who could vote for her in the 39% indie voter state.
Polling numbers show her rising in the first primary state, even coming within four percentage of Donald Trump in one survey.
But the “momentum” Haley’s camp is hoping for could prove risky.
Per RealClearPolitics’ average, Haley is polling at 21.8% in her home state of South Carolina compared to Trump’s 52%, and still more than 20 points behind the former president in the Granite State.
The former UN ambassador could also run into other hurdles after New Hampshire.
In Nevada, which votes in early February, Haley is the sole top GOP candidate competing in the primary, and is not eligible to earn any delegates.
All other White House hopefuls are competing in the caucuses.
Haley’s “win” in the Nevada primary could add to her momentum and spur media coverage, but the results of the election will only be publicized after the caucuses, making her possible boost complicated at best.
The New Hampshire strategy has become clearer in recent days, with Haley telling voters they can “correct” the Iowa outcome and Gov. Chris Sununu predicting she would win in his state.
“You know Iowa starts it. You know that you correct it … you know that my sweet state of South Carolina brings it home,” Haley said Wednesday night in New Hampshire.
She defended her comments in an Iowa town hall Thursday night to a booing audience, saying she was having “fun” and inspiring “banter” between the early states.
The former South Carolina governor has been ambiguous about the specific place she wants to get, and instead has maintained she wants to be the primary challenger to Trump.
She defended her comments in an Iowa town hall Thursday night to a booing audience, saying she was having “fun” and inspiring “banter” between the early states.
Sununu offered the clearest prediction from her camp on Wednesday, guaranteeing she will defeat Trump in New Hampshire and deliver a “strong second” in Iowa.
Haley’s campaign told The Post that it sees the Granite State race as a head-to-head with Trump.
“This is a two-person race between Donald Trump and Nikki Haley. Trump is spending millions in attack ads against Nikki because he’s scared. Nikki is putting in the work, shaking every hand and answering every question. We’re excited to keep building off our momentum,” Haley spokesperson AnnMarie Graham-Barnes told The Post.
The Haley rep’s statement refers to the recent attacks coming out of Trump world against her.
The super PAC backing Trump, MAGA Inc., recently released several ads in New Hampshire targeting Haley over her previous comments on gas price hikes and her policies on the border.
Haley has also been campaigning heavily in Iowa and has seen some movement in the polls — but not to the degree of New Hampshire.
Her sprint for the caucuses was boosted by an October endorsement from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, a Charles Koch-funded organization with aggressive grassroots capabilities. Since then, the surrogates have worked to convince voters to choose Haley, but have been playing catch-up to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had put his primary focus on Iowa earlier in the fall.