Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley had a curt goodbye for GOP primary rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sunday after DeSantis announced he will suspend his presidential campaign.
DeSantis, who has for months feuded with Haley in debates and on the campaign trail, endorsed Trump.
“Ron DeSantis has been a good governor, and I wish him well,” Haley said in a statement.
Haley painted a hopeful picture for her White House bid, as she is now the last candidate standing between Trump and a third consecutive GOP nomination. Trump did well in last week’s Iowa caucuses, but the Haley campaign hopes a good performance in New Hampshire could provide the needed momentum to upset Trump.
“So far, only one state has voted. Half of its votes went to Donald Trump, and half did not,” she said. “We’re not a country of coronations. Voters deserve a say in whether we go down the road of Trump and Biden again, or we go down a new conservative road.”
“New Hampshire voters will have their say on Tuesday. When I’m president, I will do everything in my power to show them they made the right decision,” she added.
The former South Carolina governor has sharpened her attacks on Trump in recent weeks as Republican voters begin to go to polls, claiming that Trump couldn’t beat President Biden in the 2024 election.
“All the evidence says that if it’s a Trump-Biden rematch, it’s going to be another toss-up election. It could go either way,” Haley said in remarks after Iowa’s caucuses last week. “And then look at what happens when I go head-to-head against Biden. We win in a landslide. It’s not even close.”
Polls support her sentiment, with Trump leading Biden by a single point according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ average of polls, while Haley would lead Biden by 3 points.
In New Hampshire, Haley trails Trump by about 11 points, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ average of state polls. Nationally, she is behind by a massive 55 percentage points. Both figures use polls that included DeSantis.
