Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s campaign is urging supporters in a new memo to “take a deep breath” amid New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary, assuring that “we aren’t going anywhere” as Haley goes head-to-head with former President Trump in the Granite State.
“The political class and the media want to give Donald Trump a coronation. They say the race is over,” Haley’s campaign manager, Betsy Ankney, wrote in the memo. She noted Trump’s win in last week’s Iowa caucuses, where Haley came in a distant third place — but highlighted that just 110,000 Iowans had weighed in on the contest.
“That isn’t how this works,” Ankney said. “And while members of Congress, the press, and many of the weak-kneed fellas who ran for president are giving up and giving in – we aren’t going anywhere.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who came in second place above Haley in Iowa, dropped out of the presidential race over the weekend and threw his backing behind Trump. Now, the field has winnowed to a one-on-one between Haley and the former president, raising questions about whether her campaign has enough momentum to stay competitive as the 2024 cycle heats up.
But the Haley campaign’s memo pushed back against perceptions that New Hampshire — where unaffiliated voters can take part in Tuesday’s party primaries — is “’the best it’s going to get’” for her.
Ankney projected optimism toward the late February primary in South Carolina, Haley’s home state, and onto Super Tuesday in March, arguing there’s “significant fertile ground” for the former South Carolina governor in several open or semi-open primaries taking place that day.
“Until then, everyone should take a deep breath. The campaign has not even begun in any of these states yet. No ads have been aired and candidates aren’t hustling on the ground. A month in politics is a lifetime,” the memo reads.
The memo closed with a “see y’all in South Carolina” sign-off, suggesting Haley has no plans to exit the race before the Palmetto State’s primary.
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Haley has been gaining on Trump in New Hampshire polling, as numbers show her faring well among independents and Republicans weary of the former president. She’s been hammering her electability argument, pointing to results that show her doing better against President Biden, the likely Democratic nominee, than her Republican competitors.
But Trump is still leading by double digits in The Hill-Decision Desk HQ polling averages as of Tuesday, as voters in the Granite State head to the primaries.
The New York Times first reported on the memo.
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