Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said that she is the only candidate that would beat President Joe Biden by double digits and initiate change, “all the way down to school boards.”
“Every one of those polls and against Biden, I beat him by double digits, by 17 points,” Haley said. “That’s bigger than the presidency, the House and the Senate. That’s governorships. That’s all the way down to school boards.”
“If you win by double digits going into D.C.-that’s a mandate,” Haley said. “A mandate to get our economy back on track and stop this wasteful spending, a mandate to get our kids reading again and go back to the basics when it comes to education, a mandate to secure our borders.”
“No more excuses,” Haley said.
Republican presidential candidate former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley waves as she arrives to a campaign event at the Olympic Theater on January 11, 2024, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. ( Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Haley said that while she believes that former President Trump “was the right president at the right time,” he barely beats Biden “on a good day.”
“I think President Trump was the right president at the right time. I agree with a lot of his policies, but rightly or wrongly, chaos follows him…” Haley said.
“And if you look at these general election polls right now and look at the head to head against Biden, look at any of them, Ron DeSantis doesn’t beat Biden,” Haley said. “Trump on a good day, might be up by two, but it’s head-to-head. It’ll be a nail biter of an election.”
Former U.N. Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, speaks to the crowd at a campaign event in Ankeny, Iowa, on Jan. 11, 2024. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser) (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
The two-term South Carolina governor who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration argued that she is the only candidate that beats Biden by double digits.
HALEY DIDN’T ASK CHRISTIE FOR HIS ENDORSEMENT IN 2024 RACE BUT SPOKE WITH HIM AFTER HOT MIC DISS
“In order to have that, it’s going to take a lot of courage,” Haley said. “Don’t complain about what happens in a general election if you don’t participate in this caucus. It matters.”
Former President Donald Trump, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are vying for the Republican presidential primary nomination. (Getty Images)
A new poll, released Thursday, suggested that Haley had moved past Florida Govenor Ron DeSantis for a distant second place behind former President Trump.
According to a Suffolk University survey of 500 Iowa voters likely to participate in Monday’s GOP presidential caucuses, Trump stands at 54% support, with Haley at 20% and DeSantis at 13%.
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The poll was conducted from Jan. 6-10, when Haley and DeSantis faced off in a primetime debate in Iowa, while Trump simultaneously took part in a Fox News town hall.
Nikki Haley’s campaign office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.