Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who late last year floated the idea of potentially running a third-party bid for the White House, on Sunday endorsed former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley as his Republican candidate of choice.
“It’s time for the party to get behind Nikki Haley,” Mr. Hogan told CNN. “I believe that Nikki Haley’s the strongest chance for us to put forth our best possible candidate for November.”
Mr. Hogan, a moderate Republican and outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump, announced in March that he’d decided against contending in the presidential primaries to avoid a crowded race, as it would hinder a strong candidate from emerging as an alternative to President Trump.
However, in November Mr. Hogan admitted he was partial to running for president on a third-party ticket if circumstances required it.
“I am doing everything I can to stop Donald Trump,” he told CNN’s Dana Bash, blaming the 45th president for the GOP losses in the last three elections.
“Nikki Haley has got all the momentum,” Mr. Hogan said, as he announced his endorsement.
“I think we want to have the strongest possible nominee in November. Polls show that that is Nikki Haley, that she’s 17 points ahead of Joe Biden, and it’s a toss-up with Trump and Biden, and DeSantis is losing.”
Though Mr. Hogan did not specify the polls he was referring to, one recent CBS News Poll showed all three top Republican candidates ahead of President Biden, with Ms. Haley coming out on top by 8 points over Mr. Biden—53 to 45 percent.
The endorsement came a day before the Iowa Republican caucuses, the first nominating contest of the 2024 primaries.
President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lead President Biden by a narrow margin: 2 and 3 points respectively, within the poll’s the margin of error.
“Republican voters think it’s Trump who has the best chance for them to beat Biden,” CBS News Executive Director of Elections and Surveys Anthony Salvanto said. “Maybe they haven’t seen this poll yet.”
Seventy percent of likely Republican voters believe Mr. Trump can “definitely” beat Mr. Biden, compared to 31 percent for Ms. Haley. Still, 44 percent of Republicans give her a chance at winning against her Democrat opponent.
The poll shows that, of the three candidates, Ms. Haley does best with women, swing voters, and independents, with whom she currently has a 21-point lead over Joe Biden at 59 to 38 percent.
Among likely voters, both Democrat and Republican, 66 percent feel strongly that their rights and freedoms are at stake in the upcoming Presidential election, while 57 percent have strong concerns over their financial well-being.
Almost twice the amount of likely voters fear that they may be worse off financially under a second Biden term, with 49 percent believing they’ll be better off if President Trump wins, compared to 21 percent if President Biden wins. Meanwhile, 49 percent fear they’ll be worse off if President Biden wins, compared to 30 percent for President Trump.
An overwhelming 69 percent indicated that they would vote for President Trump if the primary or caucus was held today, compared to 14 percent for Mr. DeSantis, 12 percent for Ms. Haley, and 4 percent for Vivek Ramaswamy.
