The victory dashes Nikki Haley’s hopes for building momentum in a state where she polled best.
NASHUA, N.H.–President Donald Trump defeated former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley in the New Hampshire Republican primary election on Jan. 23.
The victory dashed Ms. Haley’s hopes for an upset against the former president in a state where she performed best in polling before voters marked their ballots.
For decades, New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary has served as a reliable proving ground for Republican presidential hopefuls.
Going into the Jan. 23 election, the former president enjoyed a 17-point polling lead over Ms. Haley in the Granite State, according to an average of polls maintained by RealClearPolitics. The accuracy of those polls was thrown off-kilter when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis exited the race on Jan. 21 and endorsed President Trump.
The exit by Mr. DeSantis turned the GOP primary into a two-person race. Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy quit the race shortly after placing fourth in the Iowa caucus on Jan. 15. He endorsed President Trump. So did North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who dropped out of the race earlier.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie stopped his campaign on Jan. 10, just five days before the Iowa caucus, igniting speculation that Ms. Haley would reap many of his firmly anti-Trump supporters.
A University of New Hampshire/CNN poll, released just hours before Mr. DeSantis announced that he was dropping out, showed that 62 percent of the Florida governor’s supporters considered President Trump their second choice; half as many said they would choose Ms. Haley.
The New Hampshire outcome adds fuel to President Trump’s calls for Ms. Haley to drop out and unite the Republican Party in its quest to defeat Democrat President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 general election.
President Trump scored this victory even though New Hampshire’s best-known political family, the Sununus, gave its blessing to Ms. Haley, also a former South Carolina governor. The Sununu family includes New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu; his father, former Gov. John H. Sununu; and his brother, John E. Sununu, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
By Janice Hisle
