Tag: Nikki Haley

Haley v. Trump

The AP has called the New Hampshire Republican primary for Donald J. Trump. But Nikki Haley's campaign says she will not drop out of the GOP presidential nomination race no matter the results. Be sure to read Stephen Macaulay's column calling out Trump's dog-whistle on Haley's ethnic background, "Teach Your Children Well", by clicking on The Gray Area at the top of this page.

TUESDAY 1/23/24

Trump Edges Up -- With 16% of the vote in, Trump has 54.2% of the vote to Haley's 44.9% the AP reports.

Early New Hampshire Returns -- With 8% of the Republican primary vote in, Donald J. Trump leads with 52.8% of the vote, to Nikki Haley's 46.6% of the vote, according to the Associated Press. Though he has already withdrawn from the race, Ron DeSantis nabbed 0.6%.

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On to South Carolina -- Nikki Haley will not drop out of the GOP presidential race even if she loses New Hampshire to Donald J. Trump by double-digits, Mark Harris, lead strategist for the pro-Haley super PAC SFA Funds Inc. told reporters at the Manchester expo center Tuesday.

"I think turnout is trending in the direction we need it to be so we're optimistic about tonight," Harris said, per The Washington Post. "But regardless we're on to South Carolina tomorrow morning."

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Haley Takes Early Lead – Nikki Haley had a 6-0 lead shortly after midnight Tuesday over Donald J. Trump in the New Hampshire primary. All six registered voters in Dixville Notch voted for the former UN ambassador and South Carolina governor when the town opened its polls briefly, NPR reports. New Hampshire’s 221 towns are required to open polls from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at a minimum, though with some flexibility, as with Dixville Notch. Twenty-one names are on the Democratic ballot, none of them “Joe Biden.” The president’s supporters are urging write-ins for him.

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MONDAY 1/22/24

Trump Up – Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is ahead of Ron DeSantis in national polls, but Donald J. Trump remains far ahead, according to a national poll averaging by Decision Desk HQ/The Hill. Trump has 67% and Haley, who as of this writing is still in the race, has 12%, one point ahead of DeSantis, who is not.

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Haley’s Comet – New Hampshire is the never-Trump traditional Republicans’ one and only shot, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis now officially out of the GOP presidential race and Nikki Haley polling second behind the former president. Like South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and uber-libertarian entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, DeSantis apparently wants a shot at a post of some sort in a second Trump term and is backing his former rival. Apparently, the three former challengers have concluded it’s best to hunker down from inside an authoritarian government rather than from the outside.

Haley’s droll comment after DeSantis’ withdrawal: “May the best woman win,” per The New York Times.

Haley probably will need first place in New Hampshire in order to stay in the race. Her best hope is that a sufficient number of independents and Democrats vote Republican in the primary, which they are allowed to do in the Granite State.

Koch refreshes?: The Koch Brothers early last year vowed to use their super-PAC to stop Trump, and have since put all their campaign money behind Haley. What happens if/when she has to suspend her campaign?

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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Florida Man Fading?

A week of punditry suggesting undeclared 2024 presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has peaked in his effort to topple Donald J. Trump has culminated in a Wall Street Journal poll Friday showing the former president leading the Florida governor in a two-man race, 51% to 38%. That’s a swing from a 14-point lead for DeSantis in a WSJ poll taken last December, the newspaper says. 

The Wall Street Journal also polled for a potential field of 12 Republican contenders, which adjusted Trump’s lead to 48% versus 24% for DeSantis. Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley was third in this poll, at 5%. 

Conservative and liberal pundits seem to agree that DeSantis isn’t a very good candidate, even before declaring. Traditional Republicans question whether DeSantis is even a true conservative considering his “culture war” vs. free enterprise stance in a very public fight with one of his state’s biggest employers, Disney. 

Semafor reports Friday that Trump has been dominating DeSantis in the race for endorsements from Florida’s congressional delegation. Neither has the support, yet, of Sen. Marco Rubio, who told the news outlet he isn’t ready to take sides, but “recently hung out with Donald J. Trump at a UFC event” and “hasn’t heard from DeSantis for a ‘number of months.’” 

Not a University of Florida branch: Yeah, sigh, we had to look it up. “UFC” stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

CPAC Returns to D.C.

The Conservative Political Action Conference returns to Washington, D.C., Wednesday, where announced 2024 presidential candidates Donald J. Trump and Nikki Haley are highlighted speakers.

But CPAC and its chief, Matt Schlapp – widely credited for Trump’s rise as a presidential candidate in 2016 – are under a cloud as Schlapp was accused in early January of sexual misconduct. CPAC’s parent organization, the American Conservative Union has “denounced the claim as a political attack,” according to The Washington Post. The otherwise anonymous accuser is a former staff member to Herschel Walker in his 2022 midterm campaign for a U.S. Senate seat from Georgia.

CPAC runs through Saturday.

Meanwhile: Trump topped Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has yet to declare, in a Fox News poll of 2024 Republican presidential candidates Monday, 43% to 28%, with Haley (the only other declared candidate beside Trump) tied with former Vice President Mike Pence at 7%, according to The Hill. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott grabbed 2%. In earlier polls pitting Trump against DeSantis alone, DeSantis dominated with no dilution by other potential candidates.

What do you think? Go to the Comments section in this column, or the one in the left column if that’s how you lean, or email editors@thehustings.news and type “for the right column” or “for the left column” in the subject line.

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