DeSantis overtakes second place amid overwhelming support for Trump
Are you still ignoring Trump’s “bird-headed” mockery?
Campaign audience grows rapidly and wealthy sponsors increase
In the Republican presidential primary, former U.S. President Donald Trump has an overwhelming lead, while former UN Ambassador Mickey Haley is quickly rising to solidify second place.
Although the gap with Trump is still large, attention is being paid to how much support Haley will receive in the first primary vote, which is two months away.
The U.S. Washington Post (WP) reported on the 21st (local time) that candidate Haley’s approval rating in Iowa, which is very important, came in second place, surpassing Florida Governor DeSantis, and is also solidifying her lead in New Hampshire and her home state of South Carolina. reported.
Candidate Haley’s outstanding performance at the Republican candidate debate, which Trump did not attend, attracted the attention of wealthy donors and her campaign audience is rapidly increasing.
However, WP pointed out that there are many challenges that candidate Haley must overcome in the future. The biggest challenge is that support for Trump within the Republican Party remains constant. In particular, in past Republican presidential primaries, it is not uncommon for candidates whose approval ratings rose late to ultimately lose the primary. Additionally, Candidate DeSantis is still ahead of Candidate Haley nationally.
Candidate Haley’s campaign expects that she will have to get the same number of votes as Trump in her home state of South Carolina to continue the race. “If we get a lot of votes in Iowa and New Hampshire, we can get a lot of votes in South Carolina,” said Mark Harris, a fundraising strategist for Haley’s campaign, emphasizing that Haley has multiple opportunities ahead of DeSantis, who is betting everything on Iowa. did. Accordingly, Haley is focusing her efforts on the New Hampshire campaign.
Haley has attacked Trump, saying he will not be able to win next year’s presidential election. Trump occasionally attacks Haley, mocking her as a “birdbrain,” but is still more focused on attacking DeSantis.
His active actions in attracting Chinese investment when he was governor of South Carolina is a major point of attack against candidate Haley, who is currently emphasizing a hardline foreign policy. The strong stance of support for Ukraine is also being attacked by other candidates.
DeSantis attacked Haley, saying she was too withdrawn and unsuitable as a Republican candidate, and President Biden cited MAGA (MAGA), such as an example of Haley’s ban on abortion of a raped person after six weeks of pregnancy when she was governor of South Carolina. (an abbreviation for “Make America Great Again”) is criticized as an extremist.
Haley said she was underrated before entering the race and warned her rivals to “fight back.” During the debate, Haley sharply objected to attacks from other candidates that were seen as sexist.
◆“I support the Republican Party again because of Haley”
Among the audience members who participated in Haley’s campaign rally on the 20th, more than half said it was their first time seeing Haley. These are people who came to the rally because they hate Trump and DeSantis. However, many people said they had not yet decided whether to support Haley or former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
An audience member asked Haley if she could have Christie as her running mate, but she did not respond. Meanwhile, Christie has denied the possibility of forming an alliance with Haley.
According to a recent joint poll by WP and Monmouth University, in the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary, Trump will receive 46% of support and Haley Lee will receive 18% of support. Candidate Christie was third with 11%, and DeSantis was fourth with 7%.
In New Hampshire, non-Republican voters are also allowed to vote in the Republican primary. Also, since it is a place with weak abortion regulations, some say it is advantageous for candidates Haley and Christie.
Corinne Fullen, an independent voter in New Hampshire, called Trump a “blown buffoon.” “I was a Republican until Trump,” he said. “I came to the Republican campaign because of Haley.” He emphasized, “I supported President Joe Biden in the last presidential election, but this time I will support Haley,” and added, “Haley will unite America again with her warm motherhood.”
Trump won a major victory in New Hampshire, which has many white working-class Republican supporters during the 2016 presidential election. However, Trump recently described his opponents as “vermin” while campaigning in New Hampshire on Veterans Day on the 8th, drawing backlash for calling him a fascist dictator.
◆Attention is drawn to Iowa’s surge in approval ratings
Voting will take place in Iowa ahead of the New Hampshire primary. A poll last month showed Haley and DeSantis each receiving 16% support. Trump had 43%. The approval rating of Haley, who had received little attention in this strongly conservative region, has risen significantly.
Haley did not attach much importance to the Iowa campaign compared to Trump or DeSantis. However, considering the limited campaign staff and organizational power, the campaign audience was relatively large.
An overwhelming majority of Iowa Republican voters, who are looking for a candidate who can replace Trump, say they will support either Haley or DeSantis.
Just in time for Thanksgiving, DeSantis’ campaign is preparing a $1 million ad attacking Haley. DeSantis’ camp argues that Haley will not be able to attract support from Trump supporters.
Christine Davidson, head of a DeSantis campaign group, said, “Haley is an opponent of Trump. Wall Street vested interests support him. But Hayley can’t go any further. “In the end, people who oppose Trump will support DeSantis,” he emphasized.
◆Wealthy donors are keeping an eye on Hailey
As Haley appears to be doing well in early primary states, wealthy anti-Trump Republican donors are starting to take notice.
The campaign fundraising competition between Haley and DeSantis has intensified over the past two months. Candidates Haley and DeSantis also explained their presidential election strategies to an organization called the American Opportunity Alliance, which includes wealthy donors such as Paul Singer Ken Griffin, Kelly Kraft, and Joe Kraft.
Kelly Craft, like Haley, served as UN ambassador under the Trump administration. Her husband has not yet endorsed any of the candidates in the race, but the couple plans to host a gathering to support Haley in the coming weeks. The couple held a fundraising meeting for DeSantis last September and donated $300,000.
Citadel CEO Griffin had maintained that he would not be involved in this presidential election, but recently expressed interest in Haley and said he was on the verge of deciding to provide funding for Haley.
Eric Levine, a New York lawyer and major political funder, is also raising money for Haley and plans to host a gathering in New York City early next month. He is also appealing to Iowa voters to support Haley.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.