Haley makes late push in New Hampshire as poll shows Trump's lead growing

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley makes her closing argument in New Hampshire on Sunday even as the latest polling shows former President Donald Trump widening his lead in the state ahead of Tuesday's Republican presidential primary.

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley makes her closing argument in New Hampshire on Sunday even as the latest polling shows former President Donald Trump widening his lead in the state ahead of Tuesday's Republican presidential primary. Trump is the first choice for 50% of likely Republican primary voters, widening his lead over Haley, who has 39% support, according to the final CNN/University of New Hampshire poll released on Sunday. The poll, conducted Tuesday through Friday, had a 2 percentage point margin of error.

The poll showed Trump gained supporters since early January, when 39% of those surveyed said they would vote for him. Haley's support level also rose - from 32% in the earlier poll - as other Republicans have exited the race. Time is running short for Haley, who served as Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, to topple the Republican presidential frontrunner. Trump's Iowa caucus victory last week underscored his dominance among the party's voters despite facing four criminal cases and growing concerns about his authoritarian language. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges and says the cases are politically motivated.

If she cannot score an upset win in New Hampshire, her already-narrow path to the nomination could close altogether. "She needs to shock everybody on Tuesday," Dante Scala, political science professor at the University of New Hampshire, told Reuters. "She needs to reset expectations."

Haley has stepped up her attacks on Trump in recent days with a last-minute move to draw contrasts with a businessman and politician whose four years in the White House were characterized by chaos and who faces 91 criminal indictments, including for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election that he lost to now President Joe Biden. "Chaos follows him," Haley said in an interview on CBS News on Sunday. "He's just not at the same level he was in 2016."

'WARNING SIGNS' Haley again knocked Trump, 77, for his age after he seemingly confused her with former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi at his Saturday night rally in Manchester, telling CBS: "I don't know if he was confused, I don't know what happened. But it should be enough to send us warning signs."

Haley, who turned 52 over the weekend, has long cast herself as a fresher alternative to Trump or Biden, 81, in November's general election. Trump, who often attacks Biden for his age, brushes off criticisms about his own.

"I feel better now, and I think cognitively I'm better than I was 20 years ago. I don't know why," he said at a Wednesday campaign appearance, according to multiple U.S. media accounts. Reuters/Ipsos polling has shown that Americans worry both about Biden's and Trump's age, though more are concerned about Biden. Some 77% of respondents to a September poll said Biden was too old to be president, while 56% said that of Trump.

Trump has also intensified his already fierce offense against Haley, including racist attacks on social media targeting her Indian name and amplifying false claims about her U.S. citizenship. Haley has responded that they are a sign that Trump is "insecure." The daughter of two immigrants from India, Haley was born Nimarata Nikki Randhawa but has long used her middle name Nikki and later took her husband's surname.

Despite the late slight shift in Haley's tone, some Republican and independent voters say she has not hit Trump hard enough throughout her campaign and must sharpen her offense. "I think Trump needs to be put in his place," said Chris Jay, 57, a Republican who said he was leaning toward Haley but wanted her to lob more head-on attacks against her main rival.

'LOVE THE GUY' Even tougher attacks are unlikely to sway Trump's devotees.

"I really love the guy. And I've never felt that way about a politician before. He says stuff that's inappropriate a lot, but a lot of it is stuff that I thought," Carla Marshall, 67, said while waiting to attend Trump's Saturday rally. "They're working hard to keep him down, but he just keeps coming back."

Trump also leads Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who had jumped ahead to South Carolina only to cancel several planned television appearances on Sunday to return to New Hampshire for a hastily-scheduled evening campaign event. Meanwhile, Biden, who is not officially on the New Hampshire ballot, is likely to get 63% of write-in votes, according to the CNN/University of New Hampshire poll.

His showing in the state will offer a first sign from the polls of the incumbent president's strength heading into November's potential rematch with Trump.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)