FRANKLIN, N.H., Jan 22 (Reuters) – Donald Trump’s last remaining Republican opponent, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, was making a final push on Monday to convince New Hampshire voters to turn out and deliver her an upset victory in the state’s presidential nominating contest.
New Hampshire’s primary vote on Tuesday will split the state’s Republican voters into two camps: those with former President Trump, and those against him. The contest became a one-on-one race on Sunday, when Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ended his struggling campaign and endorsed Trump.
Trump, who polls show leads Haley by double digits, is hoping to deliver a fatal blow to the former South Carolina governor’s campaign by notching another commanding win. He coasted to a record-setting victory in Iowa’s first-in-the-nation contest last week.
For Haley, New Hampshire represents perhaps her last chance to prove the Republican base could consider someone other than Trump, who commands the party’s faithful despite facing 91 felony counts. He has pleaded not guilty to every crime, claiming political persecution.
At the first of five planned campaign events in New Hampshire on Monday, Haley told a packed veterans’ hall in a working class town that Trump was hung up on vendettas and pre-occupied with court cases, keeping him from focusing on the future.
“When you go out on Tuesday, you’re gonna decide: do you want more of the same, or do you want something new?,” Haley, 52, asked voters in Franklin.
Trump, 77, held just one event, a 9 p.m. ET rally in the central town of Laconia, where he was joined by former Republican presidential candidates, including Senator Tim Scott and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who have since endorsed him.
