Iowa GOP leaders slam Nikki Haley after she says N.H. voters can 'correct' Iowa results

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is facing backlash from Iowa conservative leaders for telling a New Hampshire crowd that its primary voters have the opportunity to "correct" the results of the Iowa caucuses.

“We have an opportunity to get this right," Haley said at a campaign event Wednesday in New Hampshire. ”You know how to do this. You know, Iowa starts it. You know that you correct it. … And then my sweet state of South Carolina brings it home. That's what we do.“

Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina governor, has gained momentum in the Granite State, surpassing GOP primary rival and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place behind former President Donald Trump, according to FiveThirtyEight.

A spokesperson for Haley’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Allies of DeSantis, including Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, pounced on Haley’s remark.

“I trust Iowans to make their own decisions. No ‘corrections’ needed!” Reynolds, who has endorsed DeSantis, posted on the social media site X, formerly Twitter.

Andrew Romeo, a DeSantis campaign spokesperson, said in a statement that Haley’s “closing argument is insulting Iowans by saying their votes will need to be corrected.”

Iowa Christian evangelical leader Bob Vanderplaats, who also endorsed DeSantis for president, posted to X that Haley's remarks “are very telling regarding her status in Iowa” and that it is an “admission of getting beat" in the Iowa caucuses.

Iowa Republicans will cast their vote for the presidential nomination and kick off the national primary process Jan. 15.

The Iowa Democratic Party, in a social media post, said that it "seems like Nikki Haley believes Iowa just picks corn while New Hampshire picks presidents."

"What a disgusting slap in the face to all Iowans and just one of the many reasons she should never be anywhere near the Oval Office," the post continued.

Haley and DeSantis are polling below 20 percent in Iowa in a virtual tie for second place, far behind Trump, who was polling at an average of 50 percent in Iowa.

DeSantis and Haley were scheduled to appear at back-to-back town hall events in Iowa on Thursday night.

Haley and her backers have made the case, pointing to polling, that she is the candidate with the best chance to beat President Joe Biden in a 2024 matchup, as she looks to draw support from independents and moderates who won’t support Trump.

Iowa Republicans have a spotty record at picking the eventual nominee. George W. Bush was the last non-incumbent Republican president to win both the Iowa caucuses and secure the party’s nomination in 2000.

The Iowa caucuses begin the process of choosing the party’s presidential nominee and serve to winnow a large field to a small group of contenders who have proved they are the most viable.

Haley’s campaign has highlighted a Wall Street Journal poll, conducted between November and December, that showed Haley with a 17-point lead over Biden in a hypothetical matchup for president.

In public appearances, Haley frequently points to Republicans losing the popular vote in seven out of the last eight presidential elections as “nothing to be proud of.”

At a campaign stop in Cedar Rapids last week, she said Republicans need a “new generational leader that leaves behind the negativity and the baggage of the past and looks forward to the solutions of the future.”

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