Haley looks ahead to New Hampshire after coming in third in Iowa

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley now has her eye on New Hampshire, where the nation’s second presidential nominating contest happens in just a week.

Haley is projected to finish third in Monday night’s Iowa caucuses, trailing close behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Former President Donald Trump sailed ahead early in the evening and retained a historic margin.

“I love you Iowa, but we’re onto New Hampshire,” Haley told a crowd in West Des Moines.

Haley won one Iowa county, Johnson County, by a single vote over Trump, according to the state’s Republican Party, which manages the contest.

The former South Carolina governor pulled 19.1% of the vote statewide with 90% precincts reporting just before 11 p.m. Central. Haley remained 2,356 votes behind DeSantis.

Haley told the crowd “the question before Americans is now very clear: Do you want more of the same or do you want a new generation of conservative leadership?”

“I’ve spoken a lot of hard truths to America, and here’s another one: I voted for Donald Trump twice. I was proud to serve in his administration. But when I say ‘more of the same,’ you know what I’m talking about. It’s both Donald Trump and Joe Biden. They have more in common than you think,” Haley said, highlighting the candidates’ ages and federal spending during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Haley said her campaign is “the last best hope of stopping the Trump-Biden nightmare.”

“And as we head to New Hampshire I have one more thing to say: underestimate me because that’s always fun,” she said, repeating her campaign’s rallying cry.

The New Hampshire primary is Jan. 23.