NHJournal invited the major 2024 First in the Nation presidential primary candidates to submit their “final pitch” to Granite State voters. This is Nikky Haley’s submission:
Last June, in between some of my more than 80-plus town halls in New Hampshire, I flew home to South Carolina to say goodbye to my husband, Michael. He was starting another year long overseas military deployment.
This is Michael’s second deployment. The first was to Helmand Province in Afghanistan in 2013. Saying goodbye again was tough for me and our two kids, but Michael is doing something important. He and his brothers and sisters in arms are protecting our family and our freedom.
Thank God we have people with the courage to fight for our country—to fight for what matters. And when I came back to New Hampshire, I recommitted to taking up that fight in the best way I could. I’m running for president to restore an America that’s strong and proud.
New Hampshire has that same fighting spirit. It’s reflected in its large veteran community and summed up in your motto, “Live free or die.” You know, we must defend the liberties that make America the most blessed country the world has ever seen. And you know that if we don’t—that if we fail to stop the chaos that surrounds us—America may be lost.
Has America ever had chaos like this? We see it in the drugs killing our children after flooding across the Southern border. We see it in the overwhelming majority of students who aren’t proficient in reading or math. We feel it when we pay more at the grocery store or the gas pump. We see war in Ukraine and Israel—and China is getting ready for an even bigger war over Taiwan.
Joe Biden is the author of this chaos. We have to defeat him in November and solve the problems facing our country. But we can’t beat Democrat chaos with Republican chaos. That’s what Donald Trump is. All breaking, no fixing. All vendetta, no vision.
My vision for America is clear. Stop wasteful spending and hold both parties accountable. Secure our border and stop illegal immigration—no more excuses. Get our children reading and education back to basics. Bring law and order back to our streets. Become not just energy independent, but energy dominant. Rebuild a booming economy that benefits everyone, like I did as governor. And stand up to Russia, Iran, and Communist China, like I did as ambassador.
This vision unites New Hampshire, which is why Gov. Chris Sununu endorsed me. But ultimately, it can unite America. That’s why I’m the only candidate who beats Joe Biden by double digits. And a victory that big means a conservative landslide from school boards to the U.S. Senate. We will have a mandate to stop the chaos and save America.
That’s why I’m running—to save the freedom that called to my parents and convinced my husband to serve in uniform. That’s worth fighting for. It’s worth dying for. And it’s absolutely worth living for.
