DONALD TRUMP beats both DeSantis and Haley. GOP presidential candidates.
Ron DeSantis;and Nikki Haley,afte rushing to redefine their paths to viability after former President Donald Trump’s resounding victory in the Iowa caucuses crushed their cases to the next round of GOP voters.
The two arrived in New Hampshire grasping for silver linings in their disappointing Hawkeye State performances and scrambling to find a message that could convince Republicans the race is far from over.
DeSantis, the governor of Florida, and Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, had hoped to slow Trump’s momentum and further establish themselves as the best alternative to the front-runner. But hundreds of appearances, more than $120 million in advertisements, five debates and a record-shattering arctic blast failed to blunt Trump in Iowa.
As the campaigns move on to the next stage of the primary calendar, the contours of the race remain unmoved.
The two candidates have been hesitant to declare “must win” states or raise expectations too high. Following Trump’s 51% win in Iowa, they have yet to show that a majority of Republican primary voters want someone else. And, despite their pronouncements on the trail, they have yet to show that the primary is a two-person contest for first place.
Inside DeSantis’ political operation, no one is defining immediate success as a strong showing in New Hampshire and, in an ironic twist, they are now rooting for Trump to edge Haley there, even as they hold out hope they can overtake the former president later on.
Haley’s allies aren’t projecting a win, either. New Hampshire GOP Gov. Chris Sununu, who endorsed Haley last month, told Fox News Tuesday he expects Haley to finish with a “strong second” in his state.
“You can’t underestimate the importance of momentum in presidential politics,” said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist who worked on Sen. Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign. “Winning begets more winning, losing leads to more losing. And Trump had really, really good press today.”
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