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full screen Nikki Haley will have to show pretty soon that she can win somewhere if she is to have a chance to give Donald Trump a run for the Republican presidential nomination, according to observers. Photo: Steven Senne/AP/TT
Donald Trump’s victory in New Hampshire is a setback for rival Nikki Haley.
But the election result gives both campaigns reasons to ask themselves questions about the way forward, according to observers.
– It shows that quite a few Republicans are not on the Trump train, says political scientist Chris Galdieri.
– Trump won and a victory is a victory. But it raises some questions, polls showed he had a 20-25 percent advantage but now it looks like it will be around 10, says Chris Galdieri, a political science professor at Saint Anselm College in the state where the first primary was held, New Hampshire.
– It shows that quite a few Republicans are not on the Trump train, says Galdieri, but emphasizes that the voter base in New Hampshire is different than in Iowa, where Trump made a big splash last week, with Haley in third place.
Mostly negative
For Haley, the result is mostly negative, she had hoped for greater support.
– Haley’s campaign must now ask if she can continue. She was hoping for a victory, but it didn’t happen and she is far behind Trump in the polls in her home state of South Carolina.
In South Carolina, a decisive primary election for Haley is held on February 24, an election she herself says is her absolute focus going forward.
According to Chris Galdieri, she and her campaign need to figure out how to actually win a primary or the trip to the nomination will soon be over. And at the beginning of March, there is the so-called Super Tuesday, with primary elections in a number of states at the same time.
– She must be able to show a win somewhere. She is working hard to portray the result in New Hampshire as a moral victory and that she did better than many expected. But she has yet to find a winning recipe.
Sets the tone
Chris Galdieri says that a primary election in a state as small as New Hampshire still matters, not least to set a tone for the future. And in a small state, there are much greater opportunities to run an intensive campaign, with many appearances.