Voters sending a message GOP should unite around Trump, RNC chief says
Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Ronna McDaniel said the results of the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary signal that Republican voters know who they will support in November, and the GOP should unite around former President Trump.
Her comments come just a day after Trump took the victory in the Granite State, leading former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley by double digits. McDaniel, in response, said she doesn't see a pathway for Haley to win the nomination.
“I’m looking at the math and the path going forward and I don’t see it for Nikki Haley," she told Fox News's Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum Tuesday. I think she’s run a great campaign but I do think there is a message that’s coming out from the voters, which is very clear."
“We need to unite around our eventual nominee, which is going to be Donald Trump and we need to make sure we beat Joe Biden," McDaniel added.
The Hill/Decision Desk HQ called the New Hampshire race in Trump’s favor just after polls closed Tuesday around 8 p.m. With over 170,000 votes, the former president earned 54.6 percent, while Haley, who channeled much of her resources into the Granite State, trailed behind with 43.4 percent.
McDaniel argued that even though Haley earned a key endorsement from Gov. Chris Sununu (R), she still came in second in the first-in-the-nation primary.
“This isn’t the RNC speaking, this isn’t the establishment speaking, this is voters speaking,” McDaniel said.
MacCallum questioned the RNC chief, asking if she is suggesting Haley drop from the race.
She deflected, saying Haley's team needs to “reflect" about the upcoming contests in Nevada and Haley’s home state of South Carolina — the next major GOP primary election, set for Feb. 24 — and to think about “what’s the most important thing going forward?”
“Every Republican has to agree that Joe Biden is a threat to our country and if we do not unite, and if we don’t come to coalesce to beat him, then we’re not going to be successful in 10 months where the Senate’s at stake, the House is at stake and the White House is at stake,” McDaniel said.
She also commended the candidates who entered the race against Trump, but believes the former president will be the nominee, and urged others to rally behind him.
Despite trailing Trump in New Hampshire, Haley said she wasn't ready to throw in the towel just yet.
“New Hampshire is first in the nation. It is not the last in the nation," she said Tuesday. "This race is far from over. There are dozens of states left to go."
Trump, in his victory speech, claimed it was a "bad night" for the former governor and also suggested she suspend her campaign.