SOUTH BURLINGTON — Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley campaigned in South Burlington on Sunday, just two days before Vermonters head to the polls to cast their ballots in the state’s presidential primaries.
Addressing a packed ballroom at the DoubleTree Hilton, the former governor of South Carolina and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations positioned herself as a fresh, level-headed voice in contrast with President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump, the respective frontrunners for the Democratic and Republican nominations.
“This is a choice between whether we want more of the same or whether we want to go in a new direction,” Haley told the crowd of hundreds. “More of the same is not just Joe Biden. More of the same is Donald Trump.”
Haley touched on the same themes she’s hammered throughout her campaign, emphasizing, among other priorities, the need to address the nation’s ballooning debt and strengthen anti-immigration policy. She also criticized Trump extensively for his remarks apparently encouraging Russia to invade NATO countries that don’t meet spending guidelines, advocating for “peace through strength.”
Vermonters who attended Sunday’s event seemed to agree with Haley’s pitch. Members of the crowd cheered periodically for the former governor, waving American flags and lawn signs that read “Pick Nikki” and “Nikki Haley for President.”
In an interview with VTDigger, Mike Margolis, a Middlesex resident who identified as a Democrat and LGBTQ+, said that he has never voted for a Republican in a presidential race but was now considering voting for Haley because Biden and Trump are too old.
“Not only is she super cool, but she’s not 80,” Margolis said.
Margolis said that he considered Haley “more moderate” and “more tolerable” than either Trump or Biden.
Trevor Stachecki, a first-year student at Middlebury College who said he “leans Republican,” said that he preferred Haley’s brand of conservatism to Trump’s. “She’s definitely a bit more moderate than Trump,” said Stachecki, who said that he would likely vote for Trump over Biden in November if the former president becomes the Republican nominee.
Republican Gov. Phil Scott, who endorsed Haley in January, attended Sunday’s event and reiterated his support for the underdog. Introduced on stage by Rep. Ashley Bartley, R-Fairfax, Scott urged not just Republicans, but also independents and Democrats to vote for Haley on Tuesday, emphasizing the need to prevent a second Trump term.
Vermont does not have political party registration, so voters are able to vote in either party’s primary on Town Meeting Day.
“What we’re in desperate need of today are proven public servants with integrity and the right temperament to inspire and lead, not divide and conquer,” Scott told Sunday’s crowd.
“If you want to help stop Donald Trump, please, please show up on Tuesday, take a Republican ballot and vote for Nikki Haley.”
Vermont, often bypassed in presidential horse races due to its small size, is one of 15 states holding primaries on Super Tuesday. Locally, Vermonters will also consider a slew of Town Meeting Day measures while, on the national stage, about one-third of all delegates to the Democratic and Republican national conventions will be allocated.
For Haley, who has vowed to stay in the race through at least Super Tuesday despite repeated primary losses, the day could represent a final chance to secure a primary or caucus victory over Trump, who remains the presumptive Republican nominee following a series of blowout wins over Haley and the other Republican nominees. All other major contenders have exited the race.
Haley secured her only primary win, in Washington, D.C., on Sunday night. But just last week, Trump beat out Haley in her home state of South Carolina by more than 20 percentage points. And polls suggest that Trump is heading into this week’s races with a comfortable lead over Haley in other Super Tuesday states, including California, Virginia and Maine.
Despite the strong turnout at Sunday’s event, Haley has lots of ground to gain in the Green Mountain State.
A recent poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center indicated that Trump holds a commanding lead over Haley among likely GOP primary voters in the Green Mountain State, with 61% of Vermont respondents saying they would likely vote for Trump on Tuesday while 31% said they supported Haley.
Were Haley to win the Republican nomination, she would likely face an uphill battle in Vermont in November. The state has not voted for the Republican candidate in a presidential election since the 1980s.
In a press release issued on Sunday, the chair of the Vermont Democratic Party, David Glidden, spoke out against Haley’s campaign and Scott’s endorsement of the presidential hopeful.
“The reality is that there would be no practical difference between a second Trump term and a first Haley one,” Glidden said in the release. “They both want to cut Social Security and Medicare; they are both viciously anti-LGBTQ; and they are both committed to eliminating legal abortions in the United States.”
Haley’s event on Sunday was itself an uphill battle at times, as about a dozen protestors heckled the former governor throughout her speech, calling for a cease-fire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and denouncing Haley for having “blood on her hands” for her support of Israel.
Although the protesters inside the ballroom were each drowned out by chants in favor of Haley and escorted out by police without incident, about two dozen protesters met the attendees outside of the hotel parking lot, similarly protesting the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Clarification: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this story was unclear about the role of Super Tuesday for Haley’s campaign.
