Nikki Haley suggests New Hampshire Republicans are better at picking a president than Iowans, renewing one of the oldest rivalries in GOP politics
Robert F. Bukaty/AP; Scott Olson/Getty Images
- Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley has triggered the ire of some Iowa Republicans.
- Haley suggested at a rally in New Hampshire that voters there were better at picking presidents.
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies in Iowa quickly jumped on the comments.
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley has reignited one of the Republican Party's old rivalries after she suggested just days before the Iowa caucuses that New Hampshire is better at picking presidents.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has gone all in on the Hawkeye State, and his allies wasted little time taking Haley to task.
"I trust Iowans to make their own decisions," Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who previously endorsed DeSantis, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "No 'corrections' needed!
Conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy also jumped in.
"Nikki Haley says that New Hampshire needs to "correct" the results of the Iowa caucus. 🤔," Ramaswamy wrote on X.
During a Wednesday in New Hampshire, Haley was trying to flatter Granite State voters by pointing out where they fit in the GOP's presidential calendar. Haley has surged in the polls in recent weeks, particularly in New Hampshire. She is also a former South Carolina, which is the final of the four early states for the GOP.
"We have an opportunity to get this right," Haley said at a rally in Milford, New Hampshire. And I know we'll get this right and I trust you, I trust every single one of you. You know how to do this. You know Iowa starts it. You know that you correct it."
In response, attendees began to laugh and then applaud Haley for her apparent jab at Iowa. She then concluded, "And then, my sweet state of South Carolina brings it home. That's what we do."
Nevada, the third of the four traditional early states, was left unmentioned in her remarks. Like Iowa, Nevada Republicans hold a series of caucuses.
Historically speaking, Haley is correct. New Hampshire Republicans have a better track record of voting for the candidate who eventually becomes the Republican Party's nominee.
It's why then-New Hampshire Gov. John H. Sununu's much more personal line, "The people of Iowa pick corn, the people of New Hampshire pick presidents" has lived on in modern politics. One of Sununu's sons, Chris, is currently the state's governor. He previously endorsed Haley.
Of the last four competitive caucus winners, only one, then-former Texas Gov. George W. Bush, went on to win the nomination. In comparison, three of the last four competitive New Hampshire Republican primary winners, (Donald Trump, then-former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, and then-Sen. John McCain), went on to win the nomination.
In fairness to Iowa, which historically has kicked off both major parties' presidential primary seasons, one could argue that early states aren't designed to be predictive.
None of the four states award an overwhelming number of delegates to the Republican National Convention, which are actually needed to win the GOP's nomination. Instead, historically, the early states weed out candidates from the field, leaving a much smaller set of contenders for when the big delegate hauls can be won on Super Tuesday. This role has diminished since the national parties began imposing thresholds for primary debates, effectively killing off some campaigns long before actual voters have their say.
Contributer : Business Insider https://ift.tt/l4pfM8m
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Friday, January 05, 2024
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