Like his victory in Iowa last week, Donald Trump’s defeat of Nikki Haley in New Hampshire was substantial enough to remove any real doubt about the outcome of the primary campaign yet also somewhat underwhelming as a statement of voter enthusiasm for a former president and de facto incumbent candidate.
It proved that Trump is basically unbeatable in this timeline while hinting that it could have been otherwise, that we were only a few what-ifs away from a more competitive campaign.
You can see some of those what-ifs hovering around an interesting Politico profile of a New Hampshire Republican voter who considered Haley, even donated to her, before returning to Trump when the primary arrived.
When Kruse first meets him, Johnson says that Trump feels to him like a “rebel without a cause” and that he’s looking for a candidate who can help reunite the country — which draws him to Haley as her star rises in New Hampshire.
Flash forward to the days just before the election, though, and Johnson has swung back to Trump, even though — or because — the former president is a “wrecking ball” who Johnson thinks will “break the system.”
Persons:
Donald Trump’s, Nikki Haley, Trump, Haley, Michael Kruse, Ted Johnson, He’s, Obama, Kruse, Johnson, ”
Organizations:
New, New Hampshire Republican, Trump
Locations:
Iowa, New Hampshire, Bedford, N.H