With Tuesday's Granite State primary approaching, candidates made a final push around New Hampshire on Saturday. Former President Donald Trump, the GOP frontrunner, faces off against former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida. Governor Ron DeSantis. Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota is running against Marianne Williamson, an author and motivational speaker. President Joe Biden will not officially appear on the ballot, but a write-in campaign is being conducted for him.
Follow along with USA TODAY and our team of reporters in New Hampshire throughout the weekend for updates.
Trump and Haley trade blows as New Hampshire race heats up
Trump and Haley took aim at each other at rival rallies on Saturday as the battle for New Hampshire intensified.
Haley's message is simple: Trump is a liar. Meanwhile, MANCHESTER: Trump attacked Haley by inviting special guests to the stage, including South Carolina legislators who criticized their former governor.
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“Every politician in South Carolina supports me,” Trump said.
Trump and his allies are lying about everything from his foreign policy positions to his plans for Social Security, Haley said. “If you have to lie to win, you don't deserve to win,” Haley said at an event in Nashua. “Let me explain it to you. Because he's going to lie about me. I am going to tell the truth about him.
Haley slams Trump for confusing him with Pelosi
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley criticized former President Donald Trump after she confused him with Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., while discussing the Capitol attack at her rally Friday night in Concord, New Hampshire, Jan. 6, 2021.
Jan. 6, The name came about after Trump criticized Haley for repeatedly saying — falsely — that then-House Speaker Pelosi had rejected his request to send 10,000 National Guard troops before 2021.
“Nikki Haley, you know they, you know they destroyed all the information, all the evidence, everything, destroyed everything? This is all due to a number of things, including Nikki Haley being in charge of security. We gave her 10,000 men, soldiers, National Guard, whatever they wanted. They rejected it. They don't want to talk about it. They are very dishonest,” Trump said.
Haley responded to Trump's comments during a campaign stop in New Hampshire on Saturday.
“He was mad at me, which is good, he often does, but he talked about how I stopped the police from entering the Capitol on January 6th and repeatedly said I didn't do anything to protect the Capitol.” Haley said. “Let's be clear. I was not at the Capitol on January 6. I was out of office on 6th January. He mentions it three times. He was confused.”
– Sudiksha Kochi
Trump is hoping for a big win in NH, hoping to pressure rivals to drop out
Former President Donald Trump used Saturday's rally in Manchester to deliver a warning to Republicans: If he wins big in New Hampshire, he will pressure GOP rivals to drop out.
“We have to come together,” Trump told supporters in a chilly hockey arena. Unspoken: Haley's win or a close second would make for a tough race. “We have a lot to win,” Trump said at one point, a statement he later repeated. “We must come together.”
– David Jackson
Ron DeSantis' schedule continues to raise eyebrows
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been campaigning in South Carolina days before the New Hampshire primary, has now canceled a Sunday interview on CNN's State of the Union. Announcing the cancellation on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), State of the Union said, “We look forward to having the governor join us on the show in the future.”
DeSantis spokesman Bryan Griffin told X, “Due to a scheduling issue, media hits were canceled and will be rescheduled. The governor will travel with the campaign Sunday morning, and public events are planned for Sunday evening through Tuesday in NH.
– David Jackson
Haley gets the support of Judge Judy
Judge Judy comes to New Hampshire to stump former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
Judith Sheindlin, 81, whose court-based reality show has been a staple of daytime television for 25 years, will appear with Haley in Exeter on Sunday, two days before the New Hampshire primary.
— David Jackson
New Hampshire primary results delayed?
Eager election night watchers may have to wait a little longer than usual on Tuesday for the results of New Hampshire's presidential election.
This year, results in the Democratic race could be delayed because local election officials will be busy counting thousands of write-in votes for President Joe Biden, who will not officially appear on the state's ballot.
New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan has instructed election officials to release the results of the GOP primary ahead of the Democratic contest if it slows down the manual vote-counting process.
– Karisa Vadik
Rudy Giuliani appeared at a Trump rally
Trump's special guest speaking tonight at the Manchester Hockey Arena: his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
The former New York mayor, whose work for Trump in the 2020 election led to an indictment, bankruptcy and a $148 million defamation judgment against him, avoided the press pen as he headed to his seat.
Some of the people in the crowd who saw him said, “Roooooo! Ruuuuuuddyyyy!” No word on whether Giuliani will speak at the rally.
– David Jackson
Stefanik stumps for Trump
CONCORD, NH — Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-NY, told reporters Friday that she would be honored to serve in a future Trump administration.
Stefanik, a staunch Trump supporter, has been touted as a potential challenger to the former president. He criticized the charges filed against him and filed ethics complaints with judges overseeing cases involving the former president.
— Sudiksha Kochi
Asa Hutchinson sees NH as a two-person race between Trump and Haley, backing Haley
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is endorsing former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley in the New Hampshire primary, days after she dropped her own 2024 presidential bid.
“Anyone who believes Donald Trump will unite this country has been sleeping for the last 8 years. Trump is deliberately trying to divide America and will continue to do so. Go @NikkiHaley in New Hampshire,” Hutchinson said. wrote in a post on XFormerly known as Twitter, Saturday.
His support, however, did not necessarily go beyond the first in the nation.
“With DeSantis leaving, basically, it's a race between Nikki and Trump, so yes, I'm pulling for Nikki in New Hampshire,” he said in an interview.
Hutchinson, one of Trump's strongest critics in the race, decided to end his 2024 campaign on Tuesday after receiving less than 1% of the vote in the Iowa caucuses.
Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Many former 2024 competitors including Tim Scott, RSC. and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who endorsed former President Trump earlier this week.
