Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) has some catching up to do in the GOP presidential primaries if she wishes to dethrone the current frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, for the presidential nomination in 2024. The former president recently trounced Haley in the Iowa caucuses, causing some to lose expectations.
With the New Hampshire primary on the horizon, some have begun losing faith in Haley’s ability to defeat Trump, including New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R), who previously endorsed the former South Carolina governor.
In December 2023, Sununu expressed confidence that Haley would win the New Hampshire primary.
“If everyone that could vote in the primary comes out and votes, not only — she’s going to win in a landslide,” Sununu told ABC News in December 2023. “And that’s not an exaggeration. So, you’re going to see a record —”
Weeks after the interview with ABC News, Sununu appeared on CNN, where he reiterated that voters in the Granite State would choose Haley over Trump in the upcoming primary.
The New Hampshire governor speculated that if former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) dropped out of the GOP presidential race, Haley would win the primary.
Christie ended his presidential campaign in January 2024.
Sununu argued that if Christie dropped out of the race, “Nikki Haley can make up five or 10 points and kind of give Trump that defeat that no one thought was possible in the next few weeks.”
Sununu’s confidence in Haley has dwindled following Trump’s landslide victory in the Iowa caucuses.
NH Gov. Chris Sununu reverses course, lowers expectations for Nikki Haley as Trump dominates primary polls https://t.co/eyTPq5eSh5 pic.twitter.com/6kjxNyf3Vd
— New York Post (@nypost) January 18, 2024
ABC News’ Rick Klein recently pointed out that the New Hampshire governor gave a “serious downgrade of Haley’s expectations” in the Granite State.
“We always wanted to have a strong second,” Sununu reportedly told Klein. “That’s the only expectation we ever laid out there.”
Sununu’s comments prompted Fox News to call out the New Hampshire governor for flip-flopping on his previous remarks regarding Haley’s ability to win the primary in the Granite State.
Sununu said he still believes the former South Carolina governor has what it takes to defeat Trump in New Hampshire but said such an accomplishment would be challenging.
“It’s gonna be hard. There’s no question about it. I think she can do it. I think — I think there’s going to be a very high voter turnout to drive that, but we’ll see on Tuesday,” he said.
