Haley on DeSantis heading to South Carolina before New Hampshire: ‘We don’t have to hop a state’

Nikki Haley said that she does not need to “hop a state” when reacting to the news that her presidential opponent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, was headed to her home state before the New Hampshire primaries.

“We’re going to do this one at a time. We played hard in Iowa. We’re playing hard in New Hampshire. We’re going to play hard in South Carolina. We’re going to keep on going. We don’t have to hop a state,” Haley said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “We’re going to play them all, and we’re going to make sure that we fight to earn every single vote.”

We’re going to keep on going. We don’t have to hop a state.

— Nikki Haley

The two-term South Carolina governor who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration said that while she welcomes DeSantis to her home state of South Carolina, she thinks it’s “a mistake.”

“I think it’s a mistake to ignore New Hampshire that way,” Haley said. “But I welcome him to South Carolina if he wants.”

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Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (left) and former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (right). (Associated Press)

Haley’s pointed remarks toward the Florida Governor come after DeSantis’ campaign announced that he would head to Greenville, South Carolina, where he’ll hold one rally on Tuesday morning.

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DeSantis later told Fox News that he would head later in the day to New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP nominating calendar on Jan. 23, eight days after the Iowa caucuses.

Campaign signs for Republican presidential candidates, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis line the road in front of Drake University, where CNN is hosting a presidential debate on January 10, 2024, in Des Moines, Iowa.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Typically, Republican candidates transition to campaigning in New Hampshire following Monday’s Iowa caucuses.

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South Carolina – another crucial early voting state – holds the first southern primary in the Republican schedule on Feb. 24.

Republican presidential candidate former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event at the Thunder Bay Grille on January 13, 2024, in Davenport, Iowa. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a campaign event at The Grass Wagon on January 13, 2024 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

On Saturday night, the final Des Moines Register/Mediacom/NBC News poll of likely Republican caucusgoers was released.

Trump stands at 48% support in the poll, with Haley at 20% and DeSantis at 16%.

Multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur and first-time candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has relentlessly campaigned across the Hawkeye State the past couple of months, stands at 8% support in the poll.

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The survey, conducted by longtime pollster Ann Selzer, has a well-earned tradition of accuracy in past GOP presidential caucuses, and is considered by many as the gold standard in Iowa polling.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.