Former President Donald Trump will handily defeat former Gov. Nikki Haley in the Granite State, establishment New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) forecasted Wednesday, saying Haley only wanted a “strong second” place result.
Sununu’s comment represents a dramatic shift from previous statements of strong exceptions that Haley would “defeat” Trump in New Hampshire:
- “Nikki Haley can … give Trump that defeat that no one thought was possible in the next few weeks. And I think that’s very likely to happen,” Sununu said in December.
- “Oh, it’s an absolute win… If everyone that could vote in the primary comes out and votes, she’s going to win in a landslide. And that’s not an exaggeration,” he said in December.
- “I think she wins here in New Hampshire,” he said in January.
WATCH — Nikki Haley Claims Republican Primary Is a “Two-Person Race” After Placing Third in Iowa Caucus:
C-SPANAfter spending months claiming Haley would beat Trump, Sununu divulged what ABC News’ Rick Klein called a “serious downgrade of Haley’s expectations.”
“We always wanted to have a strong second. That’s the only expectation we ever laid out there,” Sununu told ABC News on Wednesday.
Sununu’s comment shook political experts due to the amount of support Haley received from the donor class. Robert Schwartz, the cofounder of Primary Pivot super PAC and member of the establishment, sought to “damage” Trump’s campaign by mobilizing Democrats and left-leaning independents to vote for Haley.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump takes the stage at a caucus night party in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
In recent weeks, Primary Pivot PAC sent 150,000 direct mail pieces to push anti-Trump voters to “protect our democracy.” It also raised $650,000 over the last month to spend on anti-Trump messaging.
Schwartz’s PAC is just one organization targeting Trump. Additional anti-Trump PACs include “Tell It Like It Is” and “Granite State Votes,” both of which are working overtime to defeat Trump.
Despite the establishment’s support, polling does not favor a Haley victory. According to Thursday’s Suffolk/NBC-10/Boston Globe NH tracking poll, Haley is still more than ten points down in the Granite State:
- Trump: 50 percent
- Haley: 36 percent
- DeSantis: 6 percent
FLASHBACK — Sununu: Trump Is in ‘Trouble’ in NH, Voters Are Coming Over to Nikki Haley:
TclfzWHU“She is behind,” Michael Biundo, a longtime Republican strategist in New Hampshire, who worked as a senior adviser to Ramaswamy, told NBC News. “And to cancel on debates, and to treat New Hampshire like it’s not the first in the nation and it’s just one of the Super Tuesday states — which is what she’s treating it like — I think is a huge mistake. We have a different way of thinking here,” he added.
Sean Van Anglen, a decommitted Haley supporter, told NBC News that Haley’s campaign is not serious about winning Tuesday. “Seems like Haley has given up,” he noted.
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former GOP War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.
