In a Tuesday letter to supporters, Nikki Haley’s campaign manager bragged that the former South Carolina governor is the “only candidate who can beat Trump and Biden.”
“Poll after poll – in the early states and nationally – show Nikki gaining ground. She’s the only candidate who has consistently gained. The Trump team released its polling in Iowa and New Hampshire showing Nikki in third place in both states. The DeSantis team leaked its polling showing Nikki in a solid third place in Iowa,” Haley’s aide Betsy Ankney wrote in a message to donors.
Later in the message, Haley’s campaign blasted fellow GOP contenders for desperately seeking to mimic the former president’s style and flair. “Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy fall all over themselves to copy Trump on everything from policy to his leadership style,” the memorandum argued.
“From DeSantis’s ‘territorial dispute’ [referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine] comments to, well, everything about Ramaswamy, both seem to think copying Trump is the path to success. Meanwhile, Nikki is blazing her own path…like she always has.”
While Ankney noted that Haley, whom Trump appointed to serve as ambassador to the United Nations, shared the same position on many issues with the former president, the letter clarified, “Where she disagrees, she says that, too.”
“Her opponents have done none of that. Some run as ‘Trump-lite,’ while others throw rocks at Trump to win points in the media. All are wrong, all will fail, and all show a lack of leadership.”
Haley’s comments come after a poll published on Tuesday revealed the former governor has closed the gap with DeSantis among potential Republican New Hampshire primary voters. The new survey, published by NMB Research, found both Haley and DeSantis standing at 10 percent of support, still well behind Trump’s 37-point lead.
The poll was the first to show Haley in a dead heat with DeSantis in New Hampshire since the first presidential debate took place in late August.
A similar study published by the Wall Street Journal on Saturday found Haley in third, trailing Trump and DeSantis with 8 percent of first-choice ballots. According to the survey, Trump remained the clear frontrunner, with 59 percent of 600 registered Republican primary voters backing him as their preferred candidate. By comparison, DeSantis won over only 13 percent of likely voters.