FORMER RIVALS to former President Trump will rally with him late Monday in New Hampshire on the eve of the first-in-the-nation primary, as Trump battles his last major GOP competitor, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) will all attend the rally in New Hampshire. It comes one day after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump.
The appearance of several former rivals at Trump’s rally illustrates the consolidation of support for Trump and “underscores the former president’s grip on the GOP,” The Hill’s Brett Samuels wrote.
Haley, for her part, hopes a strong performance in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary fortifies her campaign against Trump, who has long held massive leads in national and most state polling.
Haley has narrowed the gap in New Hampshire, but she still trails Trump by about 12 percentage points in the state, according to the latest averages from Decision Desk HQ and The Hill.
Keep in mind: We don’t have any polls conducted since DeSantis’s withdrawal Sunday, but a CNN/University of New Hampshire poll just prior showed DeSantis voters favoring Trump over Haley as their second choice by a 2-to-1 margin.
DeSantis was polling in single digits in New Hampshire, so his exit is unlikely to significantly alter the results, though it could give Trump a slight benefit.