During a call with reporters Wednesday, Mark Harris, chief strategist for the super PAC supporting Haley, said the candidate "has a path" to the GOP nomination, regardless of Trump's two victories in the earliest votes.
Pointing toward Haley's native South Carolina, Harris said the first-in-the-South state "is where the battleground is going to be," noting the open primary means that any Democrats who opt not to participate in their party's Feb. 3 primary can choose to support Haley in the Feb. 24 vote.
In terms of the vote in South Carolina, where Trump boasts many endorsements among elected leaders, Harris said he was more focused on the voters.
"It will not be politicians. It won't be party insiders," Harris said. "It won't be campaign officials. It will be voters. Voters get to make this decision. That's the beauty of American democracy."
Those votes, as they were in New Hampshire, might have to come from Democrats and independents, because Trump has led Haley's home state by more than 50 points.
Haley is set to campaign in her home state of South Carolina on Wednesday and address the U.S. Virgin Islands by Zoom as the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination moves beyond the first two voting states.
Trump flew back to Florida on Tuesday night after a strong performance in New Hampshire. It was his third straight New Hampshire primary victory, tying a record previously held by Richard Nixon, who won the event in 1960, 1968 and 1972. Trump is the first presidential candidate to win three consecutive New Hampshire primaries.
President Joe Biden says New Hampshire's primary results make it clear that he will face off against his 2020 rival, former President Donald Trump, in 2024.
In a statement, Biden thanked those who wrote in his name for the Democratic primary and appealed to independent and Republican voters who reject Trump to support his campaign.
"My message to the country is the stakes could not be higher," Biden said. "Our Democracy. Our personal freedoms — from the right to choose to the right to vote. Our economy — which has seen the strongest recovery in the world since COVID. All are at stake."
If voters were looking for a magnanimous victory speech from Trump, they didn't get it Tuesday night.
"You can't let people get away with (expletive)," Trump railed as he criticized Haley for failing to exit the race after he won New Hampshire's GOP primary.
From the stage, former candidate and now-Trump backer Vivek Ramaswamy declared the race over.
But if Trump is looking to pivot to the general election, he didn't do so Tuesday.
Instead, he repeated lies about the 2020 election and slammed those who voted for Haley, saying they only did so "'cause they want me to look as bad as possible."
Haley didn't win New Hampshire, but she says her 2024 campaign is full steam ahead regardless.
Appearing at her election night party Tuesday, Haley thanked New Hampshire "for the love, the kindness, the support and a great night."
Haley congratulated Trump on his victory, saying, "He earned that, and I want to acknowledge that."
But Haley said that the GOP race "is far from over." She vowed to take her "scrappy" campaign onward to her home state of South Carolina, which holds its GOP primary next month.
Haley also took a swipe at Trump for appearing to confuse her with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying that his avowed confidence that he would score higher than her on a competency test should mean that he "should have no problem standing on a debate stage with me."
Haley drew her support from groups that were distinct minorities in the GOP electorate, according to AP VoteCast. She beat Trump among primary participants who were not formally affiliated with any party. About half of her supporters were college graduates and about half identified as moderates.
AP VoteCast is a survey of more than 1,890 New Hampshire voters who were taking part in the Republican primary and 873 Democratic primary voters. The survey is conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Newsmax's Eric Mack contributed to this report.
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