New Hampshire: How DeSantis' Retirement Affects Haley-Trump Battle

The Republican primaries have been cut to a minimum with Ron DeSantis dropping out of the running for the Republican presidential nomination for the November election, and voters now face a dichotomous choice: Nikki Haley or Donald Trump.

This is Simple matter “between a boy and a girl” As Haley summed up Sunday after learning of DeSantis' departure, that doesn't mean things will be easy for the former South Carolina governor and ex-ambassador, as the Donald Trump guy—or 'fella'—is known in English. UN

The shift in votes from DeSantis to Trump is logical if one considers that the governor sold himself as “Trump, no drama” last year when he began his campaign with great patronage. rather than a material or political platform.

truly, The governor immediately supported the former president when he announced his retirement. Trump accepted it, and the conflict between the former president, who deemed DeSantis' ambition a “betrayal,” appears to be over.

In the particular case of New Hampshire, DeSantis consistently held 10% support among respondents, so his supporters won't move the needle much in Haley's favor, even if they fold in his favor.

While the race was a three-way affair, Haley's supporters said they wanted a good performance in the first primaries of the season (after the Iowa caucuses), indicating a well-established second place.

That second place is already assured and it remains to be seen how much of a difference there will be between Trump and the presumed winner.

Trump (like Democratic re-election candidate Joe Biden) is popular with undecided voters and independents among those selling the idea of ​​the past and the possibility of a new movement for the GOP and the country.

Either way, regardless of New Hampshire's outcome, Haley seems likely to keep fighting until Super Tuesday on March 5, when a dozen states, including Texas and electoral heavyweights, have their primaries. California..

Before that, elections will be held in Nevada and South Carolina. The latter is a highly symbolic state because he was the governor.

The average of polls from the exclusive site 538 gives Trump 61% support (up 10 points from earlier in the year), Haley at 25% (a very modest 5-point increase in a month) and DeSantis at 9%, now uncontested.

Some predicted that Haley would not risk the embarrassment of such an abysmal defeat in her home state and would follow in the footsteps of DeSantis, Christie, businessman Vivek Ramasamy and Senator Tim Scott, who dropped out last time as candidates. month.

But the former governor assured ABC News on Sunday that he has no plans to abandon New Hampshire and will continue to campaign in his home state.

“We're going home to South Carolina (…). We're going to travel end-to-end in a state we love so much. We're not going to back down so soon,” Haley said when asked. Trump will retire if he takes her out.

For now, it's the same as in February 2023, when the first person Haley challenged Trump in the primary.

Few believed the former governor had the necessary platform to take on Trump at a time when the former president's candidacy wasn't as burgeoning as it is today, and his natural ascendancy within the Republican Party was solidified. He has submitted legal cases against him and evidence of political persecution against him.