Nikki Haley’s chances of a win in New Hampshire could be foiled by Chris Christie’s candidacy, says Gov. Chris Sununu
By Katelyn Caralle, U.S. Political Reporter For Dailymail.com[1]
Published: 16:41, 31 December 2023 | Updated: 17:19, 31 December 2023
New Hampshire[2] Gov. Chris Sununu, who endorsed Nikki Haley[3]‘s presidential bid, said Sunday that her potential for winning his state could be foiled if former Gov.
Chris Christie remains in the race.
It comes as a poll earlier in December shows Haley only trailing former President Donald Trump[4] by 4 percentage points with only a month until the New Hampshire primary elections on January 23.
Meanwhile, the former United Nations[5] Ambassador is also facing criticism for her recent answer at a town hall in New Hampshire where she did not name ‘slavery’ as a main reason for the Civil War.
Sununu told CNN[6]‘s State of the Union on Sunday that he sees the controversy over her statement as a ‘nonissue.’
‘There’s no doubt that, if Christie stays in the race, the risk is that he takes her margin of the win, right?’ Sununu told CNN host Dana Bash, suggesting that the former New Jersey[7] governor would ‘do the right thing’ and consider dropping out to instead hurt Trump’s shot of winning the New England early primary state.
New Hampshire Gov.
Chris Sununu said 2024 hopeful Chris Christie will ‘do the right thing’ and drop out of the race before the primary elections come to the Granite State on January 23
Sununu endorsed Haley earlier this month – it helped boost her already soaring poll numbers in the first-in-the-nation primary election state
‘I think Chris is going to make a quick calculation,’ Sununu predicted. ‘He’s obviously really upset all the pro-Trump people, right? I think he’s a smart guy. He wants to have a voice in this party.
He doesn’t want to go forward upsetting all the anti-Trump people too because he kind of overstayed his welcome, put his ego first. So I just think he’s going to make the right decision in the end.’
Christie, the New Hampshire governor said, might end up endorsing Haley.
He added that Christie doesn’t have the momentum to make up enough points in New Hampshire before the primaries next month – but that Haley could.
In the latest poll of New Hampshire voters by the American Research Group, released on December 22, the former governor of South Carolina held 29 percent of likely Republican voters.
Trump secured 33 percent of support – meaning Haley is only behind by 4 points.
‘Granite Staters are ready for a new generation of conservative leadership ,’ said Haley spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas of the latest figures.
‘As Nikki continues to surge, it’s clear this is a two-person race between Nikki and Donald Trump and we look forward to debating him one-to-one.’
Only 6 percent of those surveyed prefer Christie, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in third with 13 percent.
Regrading the recent attacks against Haley for her comments about the Civil War, Sununu seems unbothered.
‘It’s an absolute nonissue,’ he claimed. ‘She said, like you said, ‘of course it was slavery.’ I think she was talking more to the freedoms and liberties that we want for every American and the lessons that come out of that going forward.’
‘So, yes, I think she just kind of skipped right over the obvious,’ he added. ‘And, yes, I guess the press and folks wanted to hear her come back to the obvious on slavery.
She cleared it right up and everyone’s moving on.’
Christie is far behind the field of 2024 contenders and is the most starkly anti-Trump candidate.
Sununu suggested that if Christie doesn’t want Trump to win in New Hampshire, he should drop out to let Haley have a shot at the victory
Trump is facing a multi-front battle in the race to 2024 – with Colorado and Maine ruling to try and keep him off the presidential ballot in the states
Meanwhile, Trump is facing a multi-front battle with a slew of lawsuits and now efforts by several states to keep him off the presidential ballot altogether.
Colorado’s Supreme Court and Maine’s Secretary of State rules this month that Trump cannot appear on the ballot because of his role in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots. Republicans in Colorado already appealed the 4-3 decision up to the Supreme Court.
Sununu said the latest will likely only bolster Trump’s polls and make him a political martyr.
‘Look, if there was any validity about keeping Trump off a ballot, you would see 48 other states trying to do the same thing,’ he told CNN on Sunday. ‘Personally, I think this is very politically motivated by the Maine secretary of state. Trump should be on the ballot.
Everybody understands that.’
‘This would only boost his opportunity to play that victim card down the road as we hit the primaries,’ he added. ‘It’s not helpful at all, and I just don’t think it’s right. I think, again, the U.S. Supreme Court will likely overturn both of these challenges, and we can all move on with him on the ballot on all 50 states, so Nikki Haley can beat him in all 50 states.’
Polling from mid-December shows Nikki Haley in second place – trailing Donald Trump by only 4 percentage points
References
- ^ Katelyn Caralle, U.S.
Political Reporter For Dailymail.com
(www.dailymail.co.uk) - ^ New Hampshire (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Nikki Haley (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Donald Trump (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ United Nations (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ CNN (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ New Jersey (www.dailymail.co.uk)