Indian American Republican presidential aspirant Nikki Haley got a boost with former New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg (R) announcing that he was throwing his support behind her in the 2024 party primary.
“The American people deserve a Republican candidate for president who will deliver a positive, effective, upbeat, conservative message. They seek real leadership and Nikki Haley delivers that type of leadership,” Gregg, also a former governor in the Granite State, wrote in the Union Leader Wednesday.
Gregg argued that Republicans need a nominee who can win after the Republicans faced critical losses over the last several election cycles, including losing the presidency in 2020 and twice failing to win back the Senate majority.
The New Hampshire Republican described Haley as a “leader in the tradition of Ronald Reagan” and “a true fiscal conservative.”
“Equally important, she knows how to deal with the widening crises that are inflaming the world. No other candidate has her background. Nikki brings a unique and much-needed real-world, rational view to the international issues that require America’s attention if we are to protect our interests and those of our allies,” he added.
READ: Nikki Haley beats Biden by four points in new poll (October 12, 2023)
The New Hampshire endorsement is a boost for Haley as the race to become the alternative to former President Donald Trump increasingly looks like a two-way contest between Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, as the Hill noted.
A RealClearPolitics polling average of Iowa surveys shows DeSantis placing second after Trump, but the political website’s polling averages of New Hampshire and South Carolina surveys show Haley placing second.
Gregg’s endorsement of Haley comes days after South Carolina’s leading newspaper encouraged Republicans to clear the field for her to take on Trump, arguing a crowded field will lead to Trump’s reelection.
“Donald Trump won the GOP nomination in 2016 not because he was the choice of most Republican primary voters; he was not,” The Post and Courier editorial board wrote in an op-ed Saturday. “He won because, in a crowded field, he got more votes than any of his rivals in South Carolina, and then in later-voting states.”
The op-ed said it joins the calls of others such as former Texas Rep. Will Hurd, who endorsed Haley after dropping out of the Republican presidential primary earlier this month, and columnist George Will, who called for Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) to drop out and back Haley instead in a Washington Post op-ed.