Former Maryland GOP Governor Larry Hogan endorsed former South Carolina Governor and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley for president on the eve of the Iowa caucuses, calling her the “best possible candidate” for the Republican Party in November.
Hogan told CNN on Sunday that he thinks “it’s pretty clear” that former President Donald Trump will win Iowa — as polling leading up to the first-in-the-nation caucuses has indicated. “So it’s really about the fight for second place,” Hogan said.
Florida Governor “Ron DeSantis has put all the marbles on Iowa and spent all of his time and money and seems to be going in the wrong direction. I think Nikki Haley’s got all the momentum. And what this race is really all about is to try to nominate the strongest possible nominee for November,” he continued.
Over the past several months, RealClearPolitics (RCP) shows Haley’s polling average gradually ticked up to second place at 18.8% over the 15.7% for DeSantis. Some of the most recent polls have shown her with an edge over DeSantis, while other surveys indicate a dead heat between Haley and DeSantis. Haley’s hold on second place is even stronger in New Hampshire, where her RCP polling average sits at 29.3%, 14.2 points behind Trump.
“I’m convinced that the momentum is with Nikki Haley, that she has the potential of moving into second place, although it be at a distant second place, which gives her momentum heading into New Hampshire,” Hogan said, adding that Haley could possibly win the Granite State, “which would put her in a much better position when she moves into her home state of South Carolina.”
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Hogan, who recently stoked speculation about a potential third-party bid following his departure from the No Labels group, declared his belief in Haley’s chances to win the GOP nomination in the days after another Republican, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, dropped out of the race.
“I have been saying since last spring when I made the decision not to run that I really did not want to see a multi-car pile-up that would just enable Donald Trump,” Hogan said. “I think we want to have the strongest possible nominee in November.”
Hogan appeared to reference a Wall Street Journal poll released in December showing Haley with a 17-point advantage over President Joe Biden, who is seeking re-election, while Biden facing off against Trump or DeSantis was a much closer race. Other recent polling indicates that the Journal survey was an outlier and that the gaps among the three candidates are much slimmer.
“So, yes, I think it’s time for the party to get behind Nikki Haley,” Hogan said. “My friend Chris Christie dropped out of the race in New Hampshire. I appreciate his effort. But I believe that Nikki Haley is the strongest chance for us to put forth our best possible candidate for November.”
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