Post-lowa win, Trump sets sight on New Hampshire

Opponents Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis hope to stall Donald Trump's winning momentum

- Alex Leary

Fresh off a record-setting victory in Iowa, Donald Trump shifted attention to his next target in the GOP nomination hunt: a New Hampshire primary that Nikki Haley hopes will stall the frontrunner's momentum.

Haley was edged out for second place in Iowa by Ron DeSantis, who once predicted he would win there. She is seen as stronger in New Hampshire and will seek to tap in to this state's more-centrist electorate in the Jan. 23 primary. Her argument: Trump did a good job as president, but the controversies that surround him hurt the GOP's chances of defeating President Biden in November.

The challenge for Haley-and DeSantis-is that in Iowa, Trump ran up the score with nearly every GOP demographic and in every type of community with a record margin of victory for a competitive Republican Iowa caucuses. Trump allies quickly argued the race should be over so he can focus on Biden, who has minor primary opposition and is building a massive war chest. Democrats are eager to see Trump back on the ballot, convinced voters again will reject him.

Haley congratulated Trump, but quickly touted her prospects in New Hampshire. "I can safely say tonight Iowa made this Republican primary a two-person race," she said. "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?" The country, she said, is dreading a Trump-Biden rematch.

"If Haley doesn't win New Hampshire, it's all over. Trump has the nomination," said Andy Smith, a nonpartisan pollster in the state.