Chris Christie is a ‘monumental problem’ for Haley — and a potential boon to Trump

https://politico.com/news/chris-christie-nikki-haley-trump-spoil…

“Chris Christie is a monumental problem for Nikki Haley,” said Mike Dennehy, a former Republican National committeeman from New Hampshire who is neutral in the race. “They are both currently splitting the Independent vote, and Haley desperately needs those votes if she is to have a chance of knocking off Trump in New Hampshire.”

A recent CBS News poll backs up that concern. The poll showed Trump leading Haley 44 percent to 29 percent, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 11 percent and Christie, the former New Jersey governor, at 10 percent. But the survey, conducted Dec. 8-15 and among 855 registered voters and with a margin of error of 4.1 percent, provided evidence that Christie was cutting into Haley’s prospective vote share.

“Christie definitely makes Haley’s math more challenging,” said Jim Merrill, who spearheaded Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s past primary campaigns in the state and who is not supporting a candidate. “It’s safe to say that few Christie voters here would ever back Trump, so Haley would benefit if Christie withdrew.“

“Many Christie voters now see Haley as just another enabler and excuser of Donald Trump and his worst actions, as if she’s really only angling to be his VP, not actually beat him,” DuHaime said. “Christie is 100 percent alone in the lane for those people who believe Trump is unfit to be president.”