Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley appears to already be setting herself up for defeat in Iowa, as she courted New Hampshire voters on Wednesday, telling them that she trusts them to “correct” the results of the Iowa caucuses.
The Iowa caucuses take place on January 15, followed by New Hampshire’s primary, which takes place on January 23. While Haley is down by double digits against former President Donald Trump in both states, it appears she is already attempting to appeal to New Hampshire voters to “correct” the forthcoming choice made by Iowans.
“We have an opportunity to get this right,” she told New Hampshire voters on Wednesday. “And I know we’ll get it right, and I trust you. I trust every single one of you. You know how to do this. You know Iowa starts it. You know that you correct it.”
She did not stop there, adding, “Then my sweet state of South Carolina brings it home.”
“That’s what we do,” Haley, who has received an endorsement from New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R), said.
RELATED — Sununu: Nikki Haley “Is the Path to Making Sure that Trump Isn’t the Nominee”
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), who endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the GOP primary race, addressed Haley’s remark on social media.
“I trust Iowans to make their own decisions. No ‘corrections’ needed!” she exclaimed:
I trust Iowans to make their own decisions. No “corrections” needed!
— Kim Reynolds (@KimReynoldsIA) January 4, 2024
Haley tried to dismiss her remark as a joke during a CNN town hall Thursday.
“You are going to see me fight until the very end, on the last day in Iowa,” she clarified. “And I’m not playing in one state. I’m fighting in every state. Because I think everybody’s worth fighting for.”
Haley’s remark — joke or not — comes as both she and DeSantis find themselves getting crushed by Trump in the Hawkeye State. The former president leads by an average of 32.7 points in Iowa with majority support — 51.3 percent. DeSantis falls 32.7 points behind, with 18.6 percent, and Haley trails DeSantis with 16.1 percent support, setting up a tight battle for second place.
While Haley has bragged about South Carolina bringing it home, an Emerson College survey released Friday showed Trump trouncing Haley — whom Trump has nicknamed “Birdbrain” — in her home state by 29 points.
In other words, neither Haley nor DeSantis is coming remotely close to closing in on Trump, but both of them will face off in a CNN debate on January 10, five days ahead of the Iowa caucus. Trump will not participate, joining Fox News for a town hall instead.
Haley’s hope to emerge comes as Never Trumpers view her rather than DeSantis as their best hope to take out Trump in the primary.
“She has better prospects than he [DeSantis] does because her numbers are going up, and his are coming down. Usually, you want to place your bet on someone who is doing better,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) said, for example.
Megadonors are also rallying behind Haley in the final months of the race, as she more than doubled her fundraising efforts in the final quarter of 2023, raising $24 million.
Haley’s plea also comes as House Republicans react to 2015 remarks that recently resurfaced, showcasing her establishment tendencies, as she once urged Americans not to call illegal aliens criminals because “they’re not.”
