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New Hampshire: Gov. Chris Sununu Will Endorse Nikki Haley - Will It Matter?
Hotair ^ | 12/12/2023 | Karen Townsend

Posted on 12/12/2023 7:12:35 PM PST by SeekAndFind

The word is that New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu will endorse Nikki Haley today. Sununu is not running for re-election. He has been auditioning Ron DeSantis, Haley, and Chris Christie by campaigning with the individual candidates across the state.

Sununu will make his endorsement at a town hall event for Haley in Manchester.

The New Hampshire governor was contemplating a run in the Republican primary himself but decided against it. Sununu is only 49 years old. He has plenty of time to run later if he wants to do so. He spent the summer and fall with the GOP candidates and said he would endorse when he thought the time was right. It looks like that time is now. He said he is looking for the best candidate to take on Trump in the primary.

I’ll be honest, I’m a little surprised. I think Haley is running for vice president, though she claims otherwise. I think if Trump asked her to join his ticket, assuming he is the candidate, she would say yes and excuse her flip-flop by saying she was called by Trump to serve the country. Whether Trump will choose her is another question. Right now she is looked upon as disloyal to Trump, as all of his opponents are. Trump highly values loyalty to him. She could be a moderate Establishment choice, to counter-balance Trump’s populist rhetoric. Remember, Trump chose then-Governor Mike Pence to give the ticket cred with Trump skeptics. Pence endorsed Ted Cruz in Indiana. We’ll have to see how this plays out.

Don’t get me wrong. I like Nikki Haley. She has a solid resume. It’s not a Ron DeSantis resume, but she has experience as a governor, which I think is important, and she was Ambassador to the U.N. which gives her foreign policy cred. She was a kickass ambassador and pushed the America First agenda well. And, I want the first woman president to be a Republican. However, do I think she can beat Donald Trump for the nomination? No. Trump’s number in individual state polls is growing, not shrinking as endorsements roll out.

Haley is in second place in New Hampshire. Trump is at 45.7%, Haley at 18.7%, Christie at 11.3%, and DeSantis is fourth with 7.7%. Chris Christie has solely concentrated on New Hampshire. He thinks it is his best shot to stop Trump’s momentum. Haley has put in a lot of time in the state. DeSantis has put all his eggs in the Iowa caucuses basket.

Haley is in second place in her home state. Trump is up almost 30 points there. Sununu does not think that Trump can win in 2024 and he wants the Republican Party to turn the page. Sununu has said he’ll be all-in with his choice of candidate. He wants to begin ushering in a new era in the Republican Party and move it away from Trump.

From what the governor has already said about how he plans to approach this, we’re going to be seeing him put his popularity and political clout behind his chosen candidate, Haley.

Sununu has consistently been one of the most popular governors in the country.

Through three reelection bids, he has demonstrated a strong connection with New Hampshire’s swing, undeclared voters who are expected to play a key role once again in this primary.

That’s all fine but it doesn’t appear that the base of the party is ready to move on. The base is the most active voters in primary elections. They are the ones who show up and vote. None of the not-Trump candidates have moved the needle with big endorsements. At least not yet. Time is slipping away. The Iowa caucuses are on January 15. The New Hampshire primary is January 23, with South Carolina holding its primary on February 24. I look for Christie to drop out either before or after South Carolina. I think he will have his JEB! Bush moment in South Carolina. Ramaswamy is likely to hang around for a while. Money is not a problem for him. If Trump wins all three of the first contests, he will set the table for the nomination. DeSantis and Haley have to make good showings to keep going.

Elections are won state by state and that includes the party’s nomination. Do big endorsements matter anymore? At one time they were thought to influence voters but is that still true? In Iowa, for example, DeSantis has the biggest endorsements in that state, yet the needle hasn’t moved. He won the last RNC-sponsored debate and the needle hasn’t moved. Trump is at 50.0%, DeSantis at 19.7%, and Haley at 15.7%, DeSantis only moved about three points. Trump rose to 50%. Attaining 50% usually means that the person will win the caucus or primary. Will that logic hold this cycle?

Both Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and New Hampshire Governor Sununu are popular in their states. In Iowa, her endorsement isn’t moving Trump supporters.

Ryan Von Lienen, a 43-year-old poll respondent and carpenter from Vinton, says Trump is his first choice for the GOP nomination.

Von Lienen said he wasn’t moved by endorsements, instead selecting candidates based on “gut feeling.” He said Trump has “accomplished great things.”

“I love Kim,” Von Lienen said. “However, I don’t think she should have backed Ron DeSantis.

The same is true for the Americans for Prosperity (Koch) endorsement of Haley. It hasn’t proven to be the game-changer it was hyped to be.



TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: New Hampshire
KEYWORDS: chrisknows; chrissununu; donatetightwad; endorsement; haley; jimknows; joindu; newhampshire; nikkihaley; southcarolina; sununu
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1 posted on 12/12/2023 7:12:35 PM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Man. The coveted Sununu endorsement. This changes everything.


2 posted on 12/12/2023 7:13:39 PM PST by Rastus
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To: SeekAndFind

Who? [& Who?]

Machts nicht.


3 posted on 12/12/2023 7:13:42 PM PST by Paladin2
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To: Rastus

I think that sums it up nicely.


4 posted on 12/12/2023 7:16:15 PM PST by DoughtyOne (I pledge allegiance to the flag of the USofA & to the Constitutional REPUBLIC for which it stands.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Will it matter? Will it matter? Everyone will remember where they were when they first heard of it. This is big. /S


5 posted on 12/12/2023 7:16:41 PM PST by frank ballenger (There's a battle outside and it's raging. It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Nikki Hillary 2024.


6 posted on 12/12/2023 7:18:33 PM PST by Nextrush (FREEDOM IS EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS-REMEMBER REV. NIEMOLLER)
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To: SeekAndFind

Won’t matter one bit. Sunnunu’s a meathead.


7 posted on 12/12/2023 7:19:59 PM PST by Bullish (...And just like that, I was dropped from the ping-list)
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To: Rastus

With news like this, I can take they day off tomorrow.


8 posted on 12/12/2023 7:28:13 PM PST by PGR88
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To: SeekAndFind

Oh boy ....game changer.


9 posted on 12/12/2023 7:28:59 PM PST by Kevin in California (EP)
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To: SeekAndFind

Like thats gonna tip the scales…..I was worried there for a sec.


10 posted on 12/12/2023 7:36:25 PM PST by wardamneagle
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To: SeekAndFind

Send Nikki Haley’s million Palestinian refugees to New Hampshire. They deserve it.


11 posted on 12/12/2023 7:50:10 PM PST by devere
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To: SeekAndFind
/center>

MERRIMACK, N.H. — Vivek Ramaswamy called New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu the “face of the establishment” and told reporters an endorsement from him would be the “kiss of death to whichever candidate gets it, and so I will be dodging that.”

Sununu himelf acknowledges that he has no real political clout in National Politics--"Sununu also said 'not to put too much stock' in his endorsement adding, 'this is New Hampshire, everyone makes their decision on their own.'

Seems like it's Trump--not the Gov, who brings the political fire into New Hampshire.

12 posted on 12/12/2023 8:08:56 PM PST by henbane ( WAKE UP, AMERICA! The Dems & RINOs are eating you alive!)
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To: henbane
This New Hampshireite will be voting for Trump.

Sununu has been an acceptable governor, vetoed a lot of crazy democrat legislation.

He is also GOPe and some what of a RINO.

Hope his replacement is better.

13 posted on 12/12/2023 8:24:30 PM PST by Mogger
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To: Mogger

Unfortunately the Uniparty, rino machine is going to foist the turd Smelly Ayotte upon us..so she can get her leadership creds as gov then be the uniparty replacement for the current turd aka Nimrata Haley.

Ayotte will flounder without Juan Mcpain guiding her..


14 posted on 12/13/2023 2:39:20 AM PST by Article10 (Roger That)
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To: SeekAndFind

Won’t matter this cycle. Looking forward?


15 posted on 12/13/2023 3:12:21 AM PST by jimfree (My 21 y/o granddaughter continues to have more quality exec experience than Joe Biden.)
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To: SeekAndFind
No.

Might as well endorse Mike Pence, and he's not even running.

16 posted on 12/13/2023 5:43:00 AM PST by Savage Beast (TRUTH is a terrifying thing to behold when trapped in a web of delusion.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Who?


17 posted on 12/13/2023 5:45:11 AM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Paladin2

Ganz genau !


18 posted on 12/13/2023 5:54:32 AM PST by Night Hides Not (Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad! Remember Gonzales! Come and Take It!)
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To: SeekAndFind

” Will It Matter?”

No, I certainly won’t be “pulling a lever” for her on Jan 23.
My decision was made long ago.


19 posted on 12/13/2023 11:14:32 AM PST by CapnJack ( )
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To: SeekAndFind

Will it matter?

No.


20 posted on 12/13/2023 11:16:58 AM PST by Jim Noble (The future belongs to those who show up)
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