(NewsNation) — Republican presidential candidates are moving onto New Hampshire, where they’ll look to stunt Donald Trump’s campaign following his landslide win in the Iowa caucus.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has surged in the Granite State in recent months and is now polling in second at 33%, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ. Trump remains in the lead at 41%.
Is New Hampshire Haley’s best chance to shake up the 2024 race?
Republican strategist Dave Carney isn’t convinced.
“Nikki Haley’s run an excellent campaign in New Hampshire. Trump’s run a better campaign,” Carney said Tuesday on “CUOMO.” “Nikki Haley has yet to find that message that differentiates herself from Trump.”
Haley finished third in the Iowa caucus, two points behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Trump ran away with the race, though, winning 51% of the vote.
Jonathan Bush, co-founder of the pro-Haley super PAC Independents Moving the Needle, believes Haley is the right candidate to solve people’s grievances rather than just talk about them.
“Doing something about it takes an attention span longer than honestly Donald Trump has ever had,” Bush said Tuesday on “CUOMO.” “We’ve enjoyed the Donald Trump show, we’ve enjoyed these hootenannies in Iowa, the feeling of fellowship from Americans who felt left out … but I think at some point those people are saying why still no wall, why so much money, why so old, why so the same, and I think that’s an opportunity.”
Haley will be targeting the state’s bloc of independent voters and those who Trump’s antics and rhetoric turn off. She’s received the endorsement of New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu.
Last week, Trump began airing TV ads appealing to those independent voters as well, attacking Haley’s previous comments on Social Security.
