Haley Bets on New Hampshire Independents to Slow Trump's Path to GOP Nomination

Nikki Haley is making a stand in New Hampshire as the last significant obstacle between Donald Trump and the Republican presidential nomination, hoping voters there are determined enough to keep the former president out of the White House that they turn out for her in force.

"America does not do coronations," the former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor told supporters at a VFW hall in Franklin, where her daughter and son-in-law joined her. She urged the crowd to show "the media class and the political class" that voters have "a different plan in mind."

The challenge is steep. Most conservatives are willing to give Trump another chance to face President Joe Biden, despite his 2020 loss and the 91 felony charges he faces across four indictments. Nearly every leading Republican has aligned behind him. Polls in New Hampshire show him ahead of Haley in a state well suited to her strengths, though by less than the roughly 30-point margin he won by in the Iowa caucuses. Haley told reporters on Monday she expects a better result than in Iowa, calling the contest "a building game for us."

On paper, New Hampshire looked like Trump's most vulnerable early state. It has a moderate tradition and lets unaffiliated voters take part in Republican primaries. Haley had been gaining ground, and Trump's campaign and its allies spent millions trying to slow her. Thalia Floras, a retail manager and former Democrat who switched her registration to undeclared last fall, plans to vote against Trump and said she would back Haley over Biden. Still, she worried the effort was "a long shot" without enough traditional conservative support.

DeSantis's exit and immediate endorsement of Trump turned the race into the one-on-one matchup Haley and other anti-Trump Republicans had wanted. But AP VoteCast data from Iowa suggests Trump may benefit more. DeSantis supporters there overwhelmingly described themselves as conservative, and among that group Trump outpolled Haley 53% to 13%. "Be careful what you wish for," Trump adviser Chris LaCivita told The Associated Press.

Trump's team is projecting confidence. National field director James Blair said Haley has "no path for her whatsoever" if she loses New Hampshire, and that a double-digit Trump win would be "a New Hampshire blowout of epic proportions." The campaign says it has 2,000 volunteers, including 250 town captains. No candidate has won both Iowa and New Hampshire and then failed to capture the party's nomination.

Haley's campaign, which had insisted for weeks that an outright win was possible, has been lowering expectations. Campaign manager Betsy Ankney called Trump "a juggernaut" and said the goal is "incremental growth and progress." New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, speaking at Haley's rally in Exeter on Sunday night, said he was "tired of losing" and "tired of Donald Trump." On a local radio program Monday, Haley contrasted Trump with Biden on age, saying that with two 80-year-olds running, "you are going to see decline."

Trump planned a final rally Monday night alongside former rivals Sen. Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy and Gov. Doug Burgum, all of whom have endorsed him. He began the day in New York for his defamation trial, but the session was canceled because a juror was ill. Asked in a Newsmax interview taped Sunday whether he would call on Haley to quit, he said, "I would never call for it, but perhaps she should."

Supporters at his rallies appear unconcerned. Eric Holmstrom, a 43-year-old Republican from Goffstown, said Trump's shuttling between courtroom and campaign trail shows why he should be the nominee. "This guy's stamina is unmatched," he said.