Following the exit of chief rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the campaign for Nikki Haley has announced a $500k haul in donations. The former U.N. Ambassador is hopeful that the DeSantis drop out will send both voters and cash toward her efforts to dethrone the current Republican front-runner Donald Trump.
The news comes as Haley sees a twofold window of opportunity in New Hampshire; the Granite State is more open to her brand of mild conservativism, and she can finally confront Donald Trump one on one without a slew of candidates to dilute the vote. In a Monday town hall, Haley told a mostly working class crowd that Trump was too invested in settling old scores than solving new problems. "When you go out on Tuesday, you're gonna decide: do you want more of the same, or do you want something new?" Haley asked the New Hampshire audience.
Although Tuesday's New Hampshire primary gives Haley the matchup she's been waiting for, she still trails Trump by almost 12 points, according to a University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll.
The former South Carolina governor views New Hampshire with favorable eyes thanks to the state's large number of independent voters, as opposed to the more traditionally conservative Iowa.
Despite the Haley camp optimism, another University of New Hampshire Survey Center polls paints an alternative picture with 62% of DeSantis supporters saying they would support Trump as their second choice compared to only 30% switching their allegiance to Haley.
Tuesday's result could hinge on voter turnout and the ratio of Republicans to independents, known in the state as "undeclareds," said Jim Merrill, a Republican strategist in New Hampshire.
"Nikki Haley has a shot here tomorrow and that shot is having enough Republican voters [stay home], then a large undeclared turnout," Merrill told a media roundtable.
Regardless of the perceived uphill climb, the Haley campaign is still going all in with New Hampshire and South Carolina, including increasing their ad buy to $4 million in the southern state immediately following the New Hampshire primary, according to Bloomberg.
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