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SEABROOK, N.H. — After Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the Republican presidential primary on Sunday, Nikki Haley said she remains confident that she can beat former President Donald Trump.

“I want to say to Ron that he was a great governor and he ran a great race,” Haley said in front of a packed crowd at Brown’s Lobster Pound. “Having said that, it’s now one fella and one lady in the race.”

DeSantis announced he was dropping out in a video post on X on Sunday afternoon. In the post, DeSantis endorsed Trump, referring back to a loyalty pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee he signed in August before the first primary debate.

“Nobody worked harder, and we left it all out on the field,” DeSantis said in the post. “It’s clear to me that a majority of Republican voters want to give Donald Trump another chance. He has my endorsement because we cannot go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear.”

Jody Dowe, an 80-year-old voter from the Seabrook area, was optimistic about Haley’s chance following DeSantis’ announcement. She said Haley offered something different from other candidates because of her proven track record in government as a former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor.

“I’m all for her,” Dowe said. “She’s got a plan more than anyone else does and she knows what we need.”

David Saume, a Massachusetts resident who attended Haley’s rally on Sunday evening at Exeter High School, started supporting Haley in February 2023, just days after she announced her candidacy. He said he resonated with the message that “chaos follows” Trump — a message Haley has been repeating during her time in New Hampshire.

“I’ve been listening to his nonsense my entire adult life,” Saume said. “He’s despicable, while Haley is unlike any other. She’s level-headed and she’s practical.”

At Sunday’s rally, Judge Judy Sheindlin, who endorsed Haley on Jan. 9, introduced the candidate.

“When you teach a child not to put their hand over a flame, you do that because you know you’re gonna get burned,” Sheindlin said. “When they go back and put their hand in front of the flame again, you say: fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. We’ve already seen what these two points look like. It’s time for Nikki Haley.”

Bridget Overby | Presentation Director

According to a CNN poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire after Trump’s win in Iowa, the former president has the support of 50% of likely Republican voters in the New Hampshire primary. Haley had 39% of the same group of voters.

In the Iowa presidential caucus last week, Haley finished third with 19% of the vote, behind both DeSantis and Trump. But Trump ran away in the caucus with 51% of the vote. His 30-point win over DeSantis set a record for the highest margin of victory for a contested Iowa Republican caucus.

Earlier on Sunday, Haley was in Epping, New Hampshire at the Beach Plum, a seafood restaurant, meeting voters and responding to questions from the press about polling data showing Trump’s lead in the state increasing.

“I disagree that more Republicans aren’t buying my argument,” Haley said. “The only thing I care about is on Tuesday … The elected political class has never liked me, and they will never endorse me. And I don’t want it, because I’m fighting for normal people.”

Haley responds to recent CNN polling putting Trump way ahead in New Hampshire, saying she remains confident. Also says she won’t consider running under the No Labels party. pic.twitter.com/Ul3ZtSQL6A

— Richard Perrins (@richardperrins2) January 21, 2024

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination in December, announced he was endorsing Trump earlier on Friday. Shortly after Haley’s rally in Manchester on Friday ended, Scott was speaking alongside Trump at the former president’s rally in Concord, New Hampshire.

Instead of focusing on Scott’s endorsement, Haley hammered her usual platform of tightening the borders, strengthening the economy and attacking Trump and President Joe Biden for what she described as poor leadership that centers on political drama. Haley said most Americans don’t want to see the two frontrunners face one another in the general election again.

“They think a leader decides who’s good and who’s bad, who’s right and who’s wrong,” Haley said. “My approach is different. Politics is not personal for me — we don’t have time for that. It’s about results.”

Published on January 22, 2024 at 12:56 am

Contact Richard: rcperrin@syr.edu | @richardperrins2