DES MOINES, Iowa—Following a close third-place finish in the Jan. 15 Iowa Caucus, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has moved her full attention to New Hampshire, where she is staking on doing well.
But she did not leave Iowa without taking a shot at former President Donald Trump, who dominated the caucus, winning all but one county (Ms. Haley won Johnson County, where the University of Iowa is located, by one point).
“I voted for Donald Trump twice. I was proud to serve in his administration. But when I say more of the same, you know what I’m talking about,” she said at her caucus watch party in West Des Moines, Iowa, after she got 19.1 percent of the votes, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with 21.2 percent and President Trump with 51 percent.
“It’s both Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” she continued. “They have more in common than you think: 70 percent of Americans don’t want another Trump-Biden rematch.”
Ms. Haley went on to cite President Trump and President Biden’s old age, which is 77 years and 81 years, respectively.
She also blasted the two for reckless spending during their presidencies.
Additionally, she said, “Trump and Biden both lack a vision for our country’s future because both are consumed by the past. By investigations, by vendettas, by grievances. American deserves better.”
She called her campaign the “last best hope” to defeating President Trump and President Biden.
“The two most disliked politicians in America: Trump and Biden. Both are consumed by chaos, negativity, and grievances of the past. The better choice for a better America: Nikki Haley,” stated the narrator.
“I have a different style and approach. I'll fix our economy, close our border, and strengthen the cause of freedom. We need a new generation of conservative leadership to get it done,” said Ms. Haley.
Moreover, polls show a neck-and-neck race in the Granite State between Ms. Haley and President Trump.
Furthermore, hundreds of volunteers and activists from Americans for Prosperity Action, the largest conservative grassroots organization, have been knocking on doors for Ms. Haley in New Hampshire.
Indeed, supporters of Ms. Haley told The Epoch Times they feel optimistic about her chances in New Hampshire, where she has done more than 75 town halls.
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), the only member of Congress to endorse Ms. Haley, echoed his former colleague in the South Carolina House of Representatives.
“It’s a two-man race. Two-point difference,” he told reporters following Ms. Haley’s remarks at her caucus watch party.
“DeSantis pretty put all of his eggs in one basket. So, I don’t know how much money he‘ll have to move forward. Nikki’s got New Hampshire, she’ll do really well in South Carolina, then Super Tuesday,” he continued, referring to the March 5 primaries in multiple states.
Mr. Norman also noted the extensive time and resources Mr. DeSantis poured into Iowa, only to have a 2.1 percentage-point win over Ms. Haley for second place. He also referred to a Wall Street Journal poll that shows Ms. Haley beating President Biden by 17 percentage points in a hypothetical matchup.
Drew Klein, a Haley supporter in Iowa, remarked that her close third-place finish in the Hawkeye State was what she needed heading into the first-in-the-nation primary.
“I don’t know how you spin this any way other than this was exactly where Haley needed to finish now to continue into New Hampshire where she’s already positioned to finish a strong second and/or potentially even beat Trump in New Hampshire,” he said. “And then we’re off to the home state of South Carolina.”
Beth Stephherold, who is from West Des Moines, said Ms. Haley’s finish in Iowa is momentum going into New Hampshire.
John Tashjian, who is from South Carolina but campaigned for Ms. Haley in Iowa, said that, while he was disappointed in how Ms. Haley performed in Iowa, she will win the Granite State—which will “be the springboard to her home state of South Carolina, where people love her.”
Political scientists echoed some of those sentiments to The Epoch Times.
“Clearly, Haley would have preferred to finish second in Iowa and finish closer than 30 points behind former President Trump,” said Andrew Green, a professor at Central College in Pella, Iowa.
“Overperforming in Iowa could have provided an additional boost moving forward to New Hampshire,” he continued. “Iowa’s electorate is much more favorable to Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, so finishing a close third behind DeSantis does not make her non-viable moving forward in the Republican nomination process.”
University of Iowa professor Timothy Hagle said the road is narrow for Ms. Haley to catch up to President Trump following the caucus.
“Haley and DeSantis aren’t out of it, but the path is harder for them,” he said.
“It appears that Haley did well enough to say she has momentum going into New Hampshire,” he continued. “That will be a key state for her. She'll have to do well there to gain ground in South Carolina, where she seems to be behind in the polls.”
Moreover, Mr. Hagle said Mr. DeSantis did not do as well as he should have in Iowa and did not put much distance between him and Ms. Haley.
But, despite her momentum in New Hampshire, it will still be tough to catch up to, let alone defeat, President Trump in the GOP primary.
“She has to win the New Hampshire primary to have any possible path forward to the nomination,” said Jeff Taylor, the chair of the political science department at Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa. “Even if that occurs, it will be an uphill climb for her, given Trump’s popularity on a national scale and in other individual states.”
At the end of the day, “early caucuses and primaries are often as much about expectations as they are about the actual results,” said Aubrey Jewett, an associate professor and assistant director at the University of Central Florida’s School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs.
“And through polling, the expectation has been set that Haley will do very well in NH,” she continued. “If she does not meet those expectations, that will be a potentially fatal blow to her campaign.”
