For women backing Haley, a sigh of relief at not voting for Trump

At a campaign event in eastern New Hampshire, last week, Melinda Tourangeau was wearing a Nikki Haley button on her lapel and a broad smile on her face.

Tourangeau, 57, said she would be thrilled to cast a vote for Haley in Tuesday’s Republican primary. Just as important, she said, was that she would not be voting for former President Donald Trump, as she had before.

"I had no choice. I had to subjugate my morals and ethics and his list of misogynistic...," Tourangeau, a Republican, told Reuters, as her voice trailed off and her smile faded.

Ask women who support Haley about Trump and that reaction becomes common. Voting for him was something they hoped to never have to do again. If Trump does become the Republican nominee, as is widely expected, some are unsure what they will do.

Kathy Holland, 75, of Sandown, NH, who voted for Trump in 2016, said if he's the nominee this time, "I will write someone in."

You see women at Haley’s small-scale rallies in Haley-branded shirts and hats, where they typically outnumber men. They like her background as a governor and United Nations ambassador, her tough national-security stance and the fact that she’s a woman.

And they really like that she is not Donald Trump.

Michelle Wright, 53, of Rye, New Hampshire, now casts a critical eye back at the Trump years. "He likes to talk about himself like he was fantastic, but really he wasn’t."

Did she vote for him? "I did. I held my nose."

The hopes of Haley's passionate cohort may be short-lived. Polls show Trump to be heavily favoured in Tuesday's primary. Haley needs to keep it close to have a rationale for going forward, although she is expected to press on to her home state of South Carolina for its February 24 primary regardless.

After Florida Governor Ron DeSantis exited the race to become the Republican presidential nominee on Sunday, Haley was the only challenger to Trump remaining.

She’s trying to appeal to New Hampshire’s moderate Republicans and independents, who can vote in the primary, but still faces steep odds.

"President Trump is the only one who can unite the party, whereas Nikki Haley is the only one trying to tear the party down by playing footsies with Democrats and Never Trumpers to invade the primary," said Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign.

Trump is well-known for denigrating and misogynistic comments towards women and has been accused numerous times of sexual misconduct, which he denies. He spent last week in a Manhattan courtroom as a defendant in a civil defamation case involving a writer, E. Jean Carroll, who claims Trump assaulted her.

Awaiting Haley at a restaurant in Epping, New Hampshire, Carole Alfano said she didn’t want to talk about Trump. "I’m tired of the drama. She’s low drama."

Alfano, who declined to give her age, said Haley’s candidacy excited her. "I want to see a woman president in my lifetime," she said. "She’s that new generation. Bye-bye Boomers!"

THE NEXT TO FALL?

Despite his history, Trump has shown little problem in attracting women voters. Hundreds can be found at his rallies. A University of New Hampshire/CNN poll released on Sunday showed that both candidates attract men and women in close to equal proportions, although Haley had a distinct 12-percentage-point edge with college-educated voters.

Marie Bradley, 75, of Laconia, New Hampshire, said she planned to vote for Trump. She respects Haley’s credentials, she said, but views her as too much of a politician.