Nikki Haley Hails 'Great Start' After Winning Tiny New Hampshire Town

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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

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Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley celebrated news of her victory in the tiny community of Dixville Notch in midnight voting calling it "a great start to a great day in New Hampshire," as she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

There are six registered primary voters in the small New Hampshire town, four Republicans and two independents who had to cast their ballot before their votes could be counted, as by tradition, once midnight struck. All six votes went to the former South Carolina governor.

"Thank you Dixville Notch!," wrote Haley on X on Tuesday morning, sharing the results. No Democrat is registered in Dixville Notch's electoral rolls.

Haley, the last of Donald Trump's rivals still running against the former president for the Republican 2024 nomination, is hoping to get a good showing in New Hampshire on Tuesday. The former South Carolina governor arrived third in the Iowa caucus on January 15, following Trump, who achieved an overwhelming victory with 51.0 percent of the vote, and Ron DeSantis, who got 21.2 percent of the vote.

Despite Haley's third place with 19.1 percent of the vote in Iowa, the former U.N. ambassador stayed in the primary race with the expectation of a much better result in New Hampshire, which is potentially the only competitive primary in the entire country between the two candidates.

Nikki Haley
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on January 22, 2024, in Salem, New Hampshire. All six primary voters in the tiny town of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, voted for Haley. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The latest polling average as of Monday, January 22, shows Haley trailing Trump with 36.7 percent of the vote against the former president's 52.3 percent, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Newsweek contacted Haley's 2024 campaign team for comment by email on Tuesday early morning.

DeSantis, who was expected to get about 5 percent of the vote in the Granite State, dropped out of the race on Sunday, giving his endorsement to the frontrunner, Trump.

Haley sweeping up the six-person midnight vote in Dixville Notch is not an indication of how the rest of the state's primary will unfold. With the withdrawal of the Florida governor from the Republican 2024 primary, Haley has now established itself as the main alternative to Trump—but the support of Republican voters for the former president remains high nationwide.

Haley's bid for 2024 had been stalling for much of 2023 until she received the endorsement and financial backing of super PAC Americans for Prosperity, funded by conservative mega-donor Charles Koch, which significantly boosted her campaign.

But it might be too little too late as Haley has remained behind Trump by a huge margin in polling. According to FiveThirtyEight, an average majority of 67.8 percent of Republican voters nationwide supported Trump as of January 22, while only 12.3 percent backed Haley.

While there are rumors that Haley might drop out of the primary race should she lose in New Hampshire to avoid humiliation in her home state of South Carolina, the former governor has already planned a rally in North Charleston on Wednesday night.

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About the writer

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

Writers Page

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property ... Read more