After Placing Third in Iowa, Haley Sticks to Same Messaging

Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley has put her third-place finish in the Iowa caucus in the rear-view mirror.

At an event in Mt. Washington, New Hampshire on Tuesday, Ms. Haley mentioned Iowa only once, saying it was cold there and comparatively warmer in New Hampshire. She meant the weather but is surely hoping a bigger percentage of voters will warm to her agenda.

Ms. Haley received 19.1 percent of the votes in the Iowa caucus, putting her behind second-place candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, with 21.2 percent of the vote, and well behind the frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, who received 51 percent of the Iowa caucus vote. Vivek Ramaswamy, who received 7.7 percent, dropped out of the race after the results were in Monday night.

Although he is still running, Ms. Haley has eliminated Mr. DeSantis from her sights, saying Tuesday in earlier media interviews that she has debated him enough, and in her mind, the race is between her and Mr. Trump.

She did not mention Mr. DeSantis in her speech. Going forward she says she will only debate Mr. Trump or President Joe Biden.

Unaffiliated Voters

New Hampshire, with its Jan. 23 primary, is the next major event on the presidential trail.

The state has 298,470 registered Republicans, 303,060 Democrats, and 399,395 unaffiliated voters. Unaffiliated voters may vote in the primary; they must choose either a Democratic or Republican ballot at their polling place.

Ms. Haley was introduced in Mt. Washington by New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who underscored to gathered voters the importance of showing up to vote.

“You want democracy? You want this whole process to change because we participate in the democratic process? Get out and vote.” Mr. Sununu said. “We’ve given ourselves a shot to actually defeat Donald Trump in the Republican primaries. It’s all about moving forward. That’s what we want to see.”

Most of the attendees raised their hands when asked if it was their first time seeing Ms. Haley speak. She received a smattering of applause at points in her speech, but some others in the audience remained silent.

Stump Speech

Ms. Haley immediately went into her usual stump speech. She spoke of education, saying she would like to see a reading improvement plan similar to the one that went into effect when she was governor of South Carolina.

Children who cannot read should be held back in school, and schools should involve parents in reading remediation, she said.

“No parent should ever wonder what’s being said or taught to their child in school. That’s why we’ll put all curriculums online so that every parent can see it,” Ms. Haley said. And she said biological boys should not be playing in girls’ sports.

On immigration, Ms. Haley called for a mandatory E-Verify program that every business must use to prove their workers are legally in the United States.

“We will defund sanctuary cities once and for all, no more safe havens for illegal immigrants,” Ms. Haley said. “We‘ll put 25,000 Border Patrol and ICE agents on the ground and let them do their job. We’ll go back to the remain in Mexico policy so that no one even steps foot on our soil. And instead of catch and release, we’ll go to catch and deport.”

Veteran Connection

Veterans may find her personal connection to the military the most compelling part of her speech. Her husband, Michael Haley, is a commissioned officer in the South Carolina Army National Guard and is currently on a one-year deployment. She recalled how her family noticed changes in him after he returned from a previous deployment.

“Michael couldn’t hear loud noises. He couldn’t be in crowds. Life had passed him by for the year that he was gone and the transition was tough,” Ms. Haley said.

“We can’t just love our men and women when they’re gone. We gotta love them when they come back home too.”

That is why she would implement telehealth, to provide mental health care right where it is needed. And she would ensure military personnel can go to the doctor or hospital of their choice.

“I think every member of Congress should have to get their health care from the VA, and you watch how fast that gets fixed.”

President Trump appointed Ms. Haley as U.N. Ambassador where she served two years, Jan. 2017—Dec. 2018.

She comes off confident on national security issues, explaining the world stage to voters in simple terms.

“If you are one of those people that says, ‘Why should we care about Ukraine?’ that is a legitimate question for you to ask.” Ms. Haley said, adding that dictators always say what they are going to do.

“Russia said once they take Ukraine—Poland and the Baltics are next. Those are NATO countries—that puts America at war. This is about preventing war. It’s always been about preventing war.”

If the United States supports Ukraine with the equipment and ammunition, it is a small part of our defense budget, she said, and Europe is helping financially, too.  We must support Ukraine and Israel, Ms. Haley said.

After her speech, she took no questions, but walked off stage and shook hands and posed for photos with attendees while country music played in the background. The campaign stop took about 40 minutes, from speech to exit.