Neoconservative presidential candidate Nikki Haley declared it is now a “two-person race” in Iowa after she took third place in the caucuses behind Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis was declared to be the second-place finisher by the Associated Press at 10:20 p.m.
Despite the loss, Haley channeled her inner Hillary Clinton and still declared that the race is between herself and former President Donald Trump — who won the night by a landslide.
“When you look at how we’re doing in New Hampshire, in South Carolina, and beyond, I can safely say tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race,” Haley claimed.
Nikki Haley: “Tonight, Iowa made this Republican primary a two person race!”pic.twitter.com/vybpPtemW3
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) January 16, 2024
Obviously, the comment was widely mocked on social media.
Conservative publicist Jillian Anderson responded, “someone tell her she came in 3rd.”
someone tell her she came in 3rd
— Jillian Anderson (@Jillie_Alexis) January 16, 2024
“Nikki Haley pulled off a Hillary Clinton-like gaffe: She assumed a second-place finish, and her speechwriters didn’t update her message based on the results,” Rev. Ben Johnson tweeted.
Nikki Haley pulled off a Hillary Clinton-like gaffe: She assumed a second-place finish, and her speechwriters didn’t update her message based on the results.
— Rev. Ben Johnson (@TheRightsWriter) January 16, 2024
“Does she realize she came in third yet? Has someone called her up to let her know?” conservative writer Ian Miles-Cheong wrote.
“I can safely say, tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race.” — Nikki Haley, who came in third place. Does she realize she came in third yet? Has someone called her up to let her know? pic.twitter.com/HxkWaNzai8
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) January 16, 2024
Nikki Haley:
Iowa made this a two-person race!
Also Nikki Haley:
Finishes 3rd place in Iowa. #IowaCaucus pic.twitter.com/krDiRVUMMp
— A B O U • A M A R A (@AbouAmara) January 16, 2024
Trump had blasted “globalist RINO” Nikki Haley hours before the start of the Iowa caucuses.
In a post on Truth Social on Monday, Trump wrote, “Haley can never win in the General Election because she doesn’t have MAGA, and never will!”
“Ron DeSanctimonious, at least, is MAGA-Lite,” Trump continued. “Remember, I think MAGA is almost ALL of the Republican Party.”
Trump continued, “The days of the RINOS and non-AMERICA FIRST candidates are OVER!”
“Nikki is a Globalist RINO, backed by American’s for Chinese Growth, the Charles Koch con job,” Trump wrote. “It’s not going to happen for her, or DeSanctimonious! Vivek Votes are wasted, should come to ‘TRUMP.’ MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Much of Haley’s support appears to be from Democrats.
A poll conducted ahead of the Iowa caucuses by NBC News, the Des Moines Register, and Iowa pollster Selzer & Co. found that Haley supporters in Iowa are twice as likely to vote for Joe Biden as they are Donald Trump, should she not win the Republican nomination.
The pollsters asked likely Iowa caucus-goers, “If Donald Trump is the Republican nominee in the general election in November, would you vote for him, vote for Joe Biden, vote for independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., or vote for some other third-party candidate?”
Across the board, just 11 percent of Republican caucus-goes said they would flip and vote for Biden if Trump is the nominee. Looking only at Haley supporters, that number jumped to a whopping 43 percent.
Just 23 percent of Haley’s supporters said they would vote for Trump over Biden.
In contrast, 64 percent of DeSantis supporters said that they would vote for Trump if he was the nominee.
NBC News reports, “These new findings from the latest NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll of Iowa further illustrate the degree to which Haley is bringing in support from independents, Democrats and Republicans who have been uneasy with Trump’s takeover of the GOP. Fully half of her Iowa caucus supporters are independents or crossover Democrats, according to the survey results. Overall, Haley took 20% for second place in the survey, compared to 48% for Trump.”
“The poll also shows three-quarters of caucusgoers believing Trump can defeat Biden despite the former president’s legal challenges. But again, a majority of Haley’s supporters think it will be nearly impossible for Trump to win,” the report added.
In 2019, Haley was elected to Boeing’s board of directors months after leaving her post in the Trump administration. At the time, she had a net worth less than $1 million.
“Post her tenure, reports surfaced that Haley boosted her fortune eight-fold — to $8 million — after leaving the Trump administration,” the New York Post reported at the time.
Soon after, the former UN ambassador purchased a $2.4 million waterfront estate on Kiawah Island, South Carolina.