Haley makes final push to New Hampshire voters

By Max Morse-deBrier

SALEM, N.H. – Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley made one last push to get New Hampshire voters to cast their ballots in the primary during her final rally on Monday night. 

She stressed the importance of moving forward from Trump’s “chaos” and talked about why voters should elect a younger leader — one she said is at the top of their game.

“When you go out on Tuesday, you’re gonna decide: Do you want more of the same, or do you want something new?” Haley said.

Chuck Stergiou, 63, a retired Independent voter from Manchester, attended the rally and said he’s supporting Haley simply because he doesn’t want Trump to win.

“I can’t stand the guy. He’s killed this country, and he’s gonna kill the country [again] if he gets into office,” Stergiou said.

He also said his vote for Haley is for “any chance we can get to get him [Trump] out of there.”

Many Haley supporters said she is the only option to beat incumbent President Joe Biden.

Haley and former president Trump are the only two major candidates left in the Republican primary. On Sunday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out and endorsed Trump.

Haley placed third during the Iowa caucuses, behind both Trump and DeSantis. She hopes a strong result in New Hampshire could propel her to the Republican nomination.

In an attempt to separate herself from Trump, Haley has sharpened her attacks against him in the final days of her campaign. 

“Chaos follows him,” said the former ambassador to the United Nations. “And we cannot have a country in disarray and have a world on fire and go through four more years of chaos because we won’t survive it.” 

Haley directly attacked Trump’s ads against her, stating, “If you have to lie to win, you don’t deserve to win. It’s that simple.” 

Haley also stressed the importance of the New Hampshire results to supporters. She said a strong finish in the New Hampshire primary would show voters around the country that she is a strong alternative to Trump.

“Don’t complain about what happens in a general election if you don’t go vote [Tuesday],” she said.

Many analysts have said it’s possible Haley draws her support in New Hampshire from some Republicans who dislike Trump and many Independent and Democratic voters.

Independent voters are a key demographic in the New Hampshire primary because they are able to vote in either primary.

Rand York, 68, a Republican who considers himself more of an Independent, supports Haley and said that the biggest difference between Haley and Trump is that “Nikki Haley can beat Biden.”

“The war is what you have to win. The November election is what you have to win, and you have to get there with someone who can pull that off,” he said. “I think that Nikki Haley has a better chance of pulling that off than anybody else.”