Republican presidential nominee Nikki Haley has been looking towards winning over New Hampshire's independent voters in an attempt to close the gap between her and fellow GOP candidate Donald Trump.
Her strategy was to balance her chances against Trump by attracting independents - including those who might change their minds before November- while not alienating conservatives in the process at the same time.
However, New England College associate professor of politics Nathan Shrader said such a prospect was a "very difficult needle to thread." The Associated Press reported that John McCain was the most recent politician to have done such a thing.
Battle for the Independents
New Hampshire has a nearly 40% population of voters who were unaffiliated with a party, and they could be eligible to vote in the GOP primary alongside registered Republicans.
A CNN/University of New Hampshire poll released on Sunday (Jan. 21) showed that while 67% of registered Republicans were likely to vote for Trump in the primary, 58% of undeclared voters supported Haley, giving her the fighting chance she needed to inch closer to the former president.
The poll also suggested that registered Republicans in the state view Haley unfavorably (47%) than favorably (31%), compared to those for (76%) and against (16%) Trump.
On the other hand, Haley was viewed favorably by 42% of people who have registered themselves as undeclared, while 32% did not. These were better odds than Trump, who was viewed unfavorably by 59% of unaffiliated voters, while only 34% said they would consider him over Haley or Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
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Trouble at Home
Despite the support of governors Chris Sununu (New Hampshire) and Phil Scott (Vermont), Haley's gains out of state might be evened out back home.
Trump framed Haley's popularity with independents as support coming from "radical left Democrats," which could discourage conservatives in closed primaries like in Haley's home state of South Carolina on Feb. 24.
Additionally, Trump's alleged spin on the recent poll was said to be on top of another issue on the Haley campaign, in the form of local South Carolina politicians and federal Senator Tim Scott, who endorsed Trump last week.
Scott was appointed by Haley when she was the governor of South Carolina.
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