Turning in a solid third-place finish in Iowa’s caucuses, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley declared the candidacy of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to be over and moved on to New Hampshire.
“I can safely say, tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race,” Haley told supporters Monday at a post-caucus event.
Gutsy? Perhaps. But politics is all in the framing, and she’s probably not wrong.
DeSantis’ candidacy is dead on arrival in New Hampshire despite a statement from his campaign declaring, “They threw everything at Ron DeSantis. They couldn’t kill him. He is not only still standing, but he’s now earned his ticket out of Iowa.”
DeSantis hasn’t seen double digits in New Hampshire polling in a single poll in 538’s database since mid-December, which renders him little more than a bit player in the Granite State primary on Jan. 23. And Haley is treating him as such, with her campaign saying Tuesday morning that she would no longer participate in forthcoming debates unless Donald Trump takes part in them.
“We’ve had five great debates in this campaign,” Haley said in a statement released as she campaigned in New Hampshire. “Unfortunately, Donald Trump has ducked all of them. He has nowhere left to hide. The next debate I do will either be with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden. I look forward to it.”
Haley has been rising steadily in 538’s New Hampshire aggregate over the past month, while DeSantis has faded and Trump remains the favorite. But the exits of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie last week and tech bro Vivek Ramaswamy following Iowa leaves the polling snapshot unclear.
One way or the other, Haley has a shot at making a play for New Hampshire. An upset win for her there, or even a very strong second to Trump, would give her some staying power through Super Tuesday on March 5, when 16 states and territories will weigh in.
And as maddeningly evasive as Haley can be when discussing Trump, she still carries a message forward to a segment of Republican voters who need to be reminded of just how dangerous Trump is.
At last week’s debate, Haley and DeSantis mainly wasted their time attacking each other. But Haley did take an opportunity to slam Trump for Jan. 6 and spreading lies about 2020. “Donald Trump basically said the election was stolen. He went on and on talking about the election being stolen, and he said Jan. 6 was a beautiful day. I think Jan. 6 was a terrible day,” Haley said.
“That election, Trump lost it,” Haley continued. “Biden won that election. And the idea that he’s gone and carried this out forever, to the point that he’s going to continue to say these things to scare the American people, are wrong.”
Haley won’t attack Trump for all the very worthy reasons Democrats feel he should be attacked. After all, she’s still trying to win the Republican primary. But if she chooses to draw the line on issues like the Jan. 6 riot and Trump’s lies about the 2020 election, that would be a worthwhile exercise for American democracy.
MAGA Republicans will ignore Haley, but anti-Trump Republicans who are giving Haley a look will be reminded of how much they hate Trump and what a threat he is to the country.
DeSantis’ candidacy is dead on arrival in New Hampshire despite a statement from his campaign declaring, “They threw everything at Ron DeSantis. They couldn’t kill him. He is not only still standing, but he’s now earned his ticket out of Iowa.”
DeSantis hasn’t seen double digits in New Hampshire polling in a single poll in 538’s database since mid-December, which renders him little more than a bit player in the Granite State primary on Jan. 23. And Haley is treating him as such, with her campaign saying Tuesday morning that she would no longer participate in forthcoming debates unless Donald Trump takes part in them.
“We’ve had five great debates in this campaign,” Haley said in a statement released as she campaigned in New Hampshire. “Unfortunately, Donald Trump has ducked all of them. He has nowhere left to hide. The next debate I do will either be with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden. I look forward to it.”
Haley has been rising steadily in 538’s New Hampshire aggregate over the past month, while DeSantis has faded and Trump remains the favorite. But the exits of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie last week and tech bro Vivek Ramaswamy following Iowa leaves the polling snapshot unclear.
One way or the other, Haley has a shot at making a play for New Hampshire. An upset win for her there, or even a very strong second to Trump, would give her some staying power through Super Tuesday on March 5, when 16 states and territories will weigh in.
And as maddeningly evasive as Haley can be when discussing Trump, she still carries a message forward to a segment of Republican voters who need to be reminded of just how dangerous Trump is.
At last week’s debate, Haley and DeSantis mainly wasted their time attacking each other. But Haley did take an opportunity to slam Trump for Jan. 6 and spreading lies about 2020. “Donald Trump basically said the election was stolen. He went on and on talking about the election being stolen, and he said Jan. 6 was a beautiful day. I think Jan. 6 was a terrible day,” Haley said.
“That election, Trump lost it,” Haley continued. “Biden won that election. And the idea that he’s gone and carried this out forever, to the point that he’s going to continue to say these things to scare the American people, are wrong.”
Haley won’t attack Trump for all the very worthy reasons Democrats feel he should be attacked. After all, she’s still trying to win the Republican primary. But if she chooses to draw the line on issues like the Jan. 6 riot and Trump’s lies about the 2020 election, that would be a worthwhile exercise for American democracy.
MAGA Republicans will ignore Haley, but anti-Trump Republicans who are giving Haley a look will be reminded of how much they hate Trump and what a threat he is to the country.
Kerry Eleveld
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