Nikki Haley proclaimed herself a “hardcore conservative” last week as her opponents challenged her conservative bona fides. But it appears that, for a legion of likely Iowa caucusgoers, she may be the only gateway to the GOP.
An NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll released on Sunday showed that nearly half of Haley’s backers in Iowa—about 43 percent—would support President Joe Biden over Donald Trump in a general election match-up. That number paled compared to the overall portion of GOP voters—71 percent, according to the poll—who would back Trump over Biden in the general election. Nearly 70 percent of Ron DeSantis’ supporters and about all of Trump’s supporters would back Trump if he emerged as the GOP nominee.
The poll also showed Haley moving into second place among likely Iowa caucusgoers, garnering 20 percent of support compared to DeSantis’ 16 percent. Trump remained far above both candidates, bolstering 48 percent of support among caucusgoers.
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The number also reflected some GOP voters’ exasperation over Trump’s continued dominance despite his various legal issues and policy positions. Haley, however, has faced barbs from DeSantis and others over her stances on certain issues. During a CNN debate last week, DeSantis contended Haley “may be more liberal than Gavin Newsom,” the Democratic governor of California. The New York Times also found various Democrats and independent voters who vowed to support Haley in the caucus.
A Haley spokesperson told the Times that the cross-party support reflected Haley’s quest to “earn every vote” and provide “new generational leadership.”
“We need the Republican Party to be a story of addition not subtraction,” spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas told the Times.
