WASHINGTON, D.C. — All eyes are on the state of New Hampshire this evening as former President Donald Trump and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley go head-to-head in the race for the Republican Presidential nomination.
Trump and Haley spent the last 24 hours giving their final pitches to voters and stopped by voting precincts Tuesday.
“I just stop here, and I figured I see three or four people and maybe walk inside, and you see a crowd like this. This is organic, this is organic,” said Trump in front of a crowd of supporters outside a precinct Tuesday.
Recent polls show Trump widening the gap over Haley in New Hampshire after his first-place finish in Iowa.
Haley said today she’s looking for a strong performance and looking ahead to her home state where she previously served as Governor.
“What I always had in my mind is, I want to be stronger than Iowa. And South Carolina, I want to be stronger. Let’s see what that looks like,” said Haley outside of a precinct Tuesday morning.
When asked today about whether Haley should follow Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and exit the race, the former president had this to say:
“I don’t care if she stays in. Let her do whatever she wants. It doesn’t matter,” said Trump.
For a strong performance today, experts say Haley will need help from Independent voters, who are able to vote in the state’s open primary elections.
“Meaning that there might be some she can key into there. But again, this is really going to be a big test for her,” said Dr. Todd Belt, Professor and Director of the Political Management Master’s Program at George Washington University.
It’s a test Haley says she’s willing to take on.
“I’m going to talk about running the tape and saving this country, I think we have to do it. I’m a fighter. I work hard and I do it because I love this country,” said Haley.
On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris held a campaign rally Tuesday evening in Virginia. Biden spoke about reproductive rights, which is an issue Democrats will continue running on ahead of November’s race.