Spanish.- Things didn’t go as Nikki Haley expected in the New Hampshire primaries. Despite her efforts to secure the Republican nomination and challenge the former President Donald Trump, it is also true that she will find it difficult to surpass her rival. This opinion seems unanimous among those observing the voting in New Hampshire, Iowa, and what lies ahead in the rest of the United States.
With South Carolina as the next electoral stop on February 24th, Haley faces the task of trying to capture more votes. Additionally, she carries the weight of being born in the state and having governed it from 2011 to 2017. It won’t be an easy task, and she is aware of it. So far, she has 17 delegates, while Trump has 22. However, the race is just beginning to determine the 2429 delegates who will choose the Republican candidate at the National Republican Convention to compete against the current President Joe Biden, who is seeking reelection.
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While Haley did manage to secure 43.2% of the votes in the New Hampshire primaries, a significant percentage compared to Trump’s 54.7% (with 91% of the votes counted), it’s worth mentioning that 70% of her voters were not registered Republicans. This translates to seven out of ten voters, according to a CNN survey. This factor is logical considering it’s the state with the most independent voters, but it’s unlikely that such a scenario will be repeated in other states because not all allow independents to participate in their primaries. Therefore, Haley would need to significantly improve her acceptance among registered Republicans. With this context, the former ambassador still wants to play other cards.
Is Haley’s Trump Card?
Haley’s strategy is to engage in a debate with Trump. She believes this can help her capture voters due to the differing approaches of their campaigns, according to The Washington Post. While the former president has preferred not to attend debates given his significant lead, the former UN ambassador “has been the only candidate to benefit from these,” and she clings to each opportunity to get closer to Governor Ron DeSantis when he was still competing for the nomination. For her, every attempt counts.
“I hope the next debate I have is with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden,” Haley said to make her intentions clear after the Iowa caucus. Thus, the American media mentions, “It is logical that Trump would want to continue avoiding the debate scenario, while Haley will see debates as something positive.”
It is unlikely that Trump will change his strategy; it has worked for him while he deals with legal charges against him by the U.S. judicial system. That’s why when Haley campaigns in the streets of South Carolina and spends four million dollars on the broadcast of two campaign ads, the former president has no events on his schedule.
Democrats Project Trump as the Winner
Regardless, Haley must be aware of the most probable scenario, and President Joe Biden is showing it to her. The Democratic Party campaign admitted that Trump has “practically secured” the Republican nomination.
Although they may try to portray confidence in those ranks by claiming the former president is “heading straight for a rematch with the only person who has defeated him at the polls,” the projections do not align with those words, spoken by Biden’s campaign manager, Julie Chávez. According to a new survey by The Economist/YouGov, 44% of those polled said it is likely that Trump will win the presidential election, 35% said it will be Biden, and 21% said they were not sure.