Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley told reporters in New Hampshire that she will not suspend her campaign after the state’s presidential primary, no matter what the results look like.
“We’re going to South Carolina. We have put in the ad buy. We’re there,” Ms. Haley told The Epoch Times outside a polling place in Hampton.
“This has always been a marathon. It’s never been a sprint,” she said. “We wanted to be strong in Iowa. We want to be stronger than that in New Hampshire. We’re going to be even stronger than that in South Carolina. We’re running the tape.”
The former South Carolina governor is hoping for a strong showing in the Granite State to solidify her status as a serious contender for the Republican nomination. But as for what a “strong” showing would look like, she didn’t specify.
“We’ll know strong when the numbers come in,” she told reporters. “It’s not like a certain number. I don’t go there and say, ‘Oh, I have to have this number; I have to have that number.’ What I’ve always had in my mind is I want to be stronger than Iowa. And then in South Carolina, I want to be stronger. Let’s see what that looks like.”
‘One Fella and One Lady’
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner, is the favorite to win Tuesday’s primary coming off of a decisive victory in Iowa. There, he bested both Ms. Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by a historic margin of roughly 30 points.
Mr. DeSantis, who at the time exhibited optimism over the results, ultimately decided to suspend his campaign on Sunday.
“Following our second-place finish in Iowa, we’ve prayed and deliberated on the way forward. If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome—more campaign stops, more interviews—I would do it. But I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory,” Mr. DeSantis said in a video message he shared on X.
Ms. Haley, far from calling it quits, celebrated the narrowing of the field to “one fella and one lady.” But the question remains as to whether she has a viable path to the nomination.
Most of the former Republican contenders—including Mr. DeSantis—have backed President Trump, urging their supporters to do the same.
On Monday, they joined him at his Laconia event in a show of strength and unity.
“It shouldn’t be about me. It shouldn’t be about Nikki Haley. It shouldn’t even be about Donald Trump. It’s about the American people,” said Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). “And what the American people will benefit from is a single-minded, focused Republican Party making sure that Donald Trump is not only our nominee but is our president.”
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), also there to show his support, agreed.
“This is about the future of our country,” he said. “I would urge people: It’s time for us to unite because we’re dealing with radicals in the White House who are destroying this country.”
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum added that President Trump has the “strength and the experience to lead us in the right direction.”
Still, he said the Republican Party should be ready and willing to bring Ms. Haley and her supporters back into the fold once the primaries have ended.
“Of course, we want to be a ‘big-tent’ party. And we need to have a whole range of Republicans and independents to help us win in swing states,” Mr. Burgum said.
“People that voted for Joe Biden in 2020 need to come back and vote for President Trump in 2024. When they understand exactly how disastrous Joe Biden has been to this country, those swing voters are going to decide the election.”
Austin Alonzo and Janice Hisle contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
