Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley supporter New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu declined to comment on whether she would have to drop out of the race if she doesn’t perform well in her home state primary next month.
“That’s a month away,” Sununu said during a Sunday interview on NBC’s Meet the Press when asked whether Haley would have to consider dropping out if she has a disappointing performance in the Feb. 24 South Carolina primary.
“To be honest, not even looking at that right now. I’m looking at the next 72 hours,” he said. “We’re going like gangbusters. She’s crisscrossing the state. She’s hitting every voter. She’s going everywhere.”
Haley served as governor of South Carolina from 2011-2017 and stepped down from her position during her tenure to serve as the United States ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration.
His comments come days ahead of the New Hampshire primary. For months, Haley had signaled New Hampshire was the early nominating state that would boost her campaign into South Carolina, but after a disappointing third-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, Haley and key allies, like Sununu, have seemingly lowered expectations for next Tuesday.
“I said I wanted to be strong in Iowa. I feel like we did that. We started at 2%, we ended with 20%. I was happy with it. I said we want to be stronger in New Hampshire — we’re going to do that,” Haley told reporters during a gaggle. “We don’t know what stronger is until the numbers come in.”
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“We are going to South Carolina. We’re going to be strong in South Carolina. The road is never going to stop here in New Hampshire,” she added. “That’s always been the plan. Strong in Iowa, stronger in New Hampshire, and even stronger in South Carolina.”
Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) are among the lawmakers who have endorsed former President Donald Trump from her home state of South Carolina.
