Nikki Haley, the last major opponent of Donald Trump, has stated that she won't concede even if she loses in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. Trump aims to secure a significant win, increasing his likelihood of a November rematch with President Joe Biden.
Trump's allies were already ramping up pressure on the former U.N. ambassador to leave the race if she falls by a large margin. She has focused considerable resources on New Hampshire, hoping to capitalize on the state's independent streak as she looks for an upset or at least a tight loss that could dent Trump's continued domination of Republican politics, wrote The Associated Press.
"I'm running against Donald Trump, and I'm not going to talk about an obituary," Haley said.
Trump retorted Tuesday, "Let her do whatever she wants," saying voters will deliver the nomination to him anyway. His aides have argued for several days that Haley has no realistic path if she loses in New Hampshire.
AP News noted if Trump wins Tuesday, he would be the first Republican presidential candidate to win open races in Iowa and New Hampshire since both states began leading the election calendar in 1976 - a sign of his continued grip on the party's most loyal voters and a suggestion that he would extend his winning streak no matter how long Haley remained in the race.
Trump has now won New Hampshire's Republican primary twice but lost the state in both his general election campaigns. Biden finished fifth in the Democrats' 2020 primary before winning the nomination. In the November 2020 election, Biden won 52.7% of the vote to Trump's 45.4%.
Furthermore, AP reported public opinion polls have shown that most Americans are opposed to a rematch. An AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll in December, found that 56% of U.S. adults would be very or somewhat dissatisfied with Biden as the Democratic nominee - and 58% felt the same about Trump as the GOP pick.
In a new memo obtained by Politico this morning, Haley's campaign manager Betsy Ankney said, "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."
The article went on to reveal that Haley was also on Fox News this morning to say, "No, I don't get out if I lose today. ... Again, I'm going to say this: We've had 56,000 people vote for Donald Trump, and you're going to say that's what the country wants? That's not what the country wants."
Haley remains indecisive about what a "strong showing" in tonight's primary would look like.
