(NewsNation) — A disciplined campaigner, Republican presidential candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has held more than 150 town halls in Iowa ahead of the caucuses Monday, delivering a well-rehearsed stump speech each time.
Sometimes delivered three or four times a day at various campaign events, a stump speech is delivered with largely the same language, allowing candidates to highlight their policy positions. The applause at each event helps the candidate know which issues — and political rhetoric — resonate most with voters.
Haley, more than any other candidate on the trail, tends to stick to her script, and it seems to be working. Ahead of the Iowa caucuses Monday, the former U.N. ambassador has pulled into second place in the state according to polls.
NewsNation’s Jackie Koppell has followed Haley across her campaign trail in Iowa. Here’s a look at Haley’s rhetoric and positions that seem to resonate most with Republicans in Iowa:
“Don’t you think it’s finally time we have term limits in America?”
Kopell notes this line consistently gets the loudest applause at Haley’s various campaign events. Her statement comes amid a growing concern about aging politicians in Congress. She follows this line by calling for mental competency tests for politicians over the age of 75. It is a not-so-subtle reference to President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump’s ages. They are 81 and 77 years old, respectively.
“For all you girl dads out there, and all you strong moms, we have to raise strong girls. Because strong girls become strong women, and strong women become strong leaders. And none of that happens if we have biological boys playing and girl’s sports. We’ve got to cut that out.”
Haley has made the transgender athletes question a pivotal part of her platform, previously stating trans girls in sports is the women’s issue of our time.
“We will turn around and defund sanctuary cities once and for all; no more safe havens for illegal immigrants.”
A sanctuary city or state is one with a policy that “discourages local law enforcement from reporting the immigration status of individuals unless it involves investigation of a serious crime,” according to Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.
“We will go back to the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy so that no one even steps foot on U.S. soil, and instead of catch and release, we’ll go to catch and deport. That’s how we will start to close our border.”
The “Remain in Mexico” policy was started in 2019 by then-president Trump to discourage migrants from applying for asylum. Biden ended the policy on his first day in office. Though some Republican-led states sued to reinstate it, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Biden’s favor in June of 2022.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to have an accountant in the White House?”
Haley received her bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from Clemson University in 1994.
“We should be doing three things. Give Israel whatever they need, whenever they need it. … The second thing is we need to eliminate Hamas. Don’t weaken them, eliminate them. … The third thing we need to do is do whatever it takes to get our hostages out.”
In Oct. 2023, Hamas terrorists killed an estimated 1,200 Israelis in the worst attack in Israel’s history. It is believed that there are about 137 Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas. An estimated 20,000 Palestinians have died in the Israel-Hamas war that followed the deadly October attack.
“I think every member of Congress should have to get their health care from the VA, and you watch how fast that gets fixed. It will be the best health care you’ve ever seen. Guaranteed.”
Haley makes this statement as a way to highlight her commitment to taking care of veterans. Her husband is currently deployed. The Department of Veterans Affairs provides health care to veterans, but complaints over services have lingered for years. This is an example of one such complaint.
“The thought of a President Kamala Harris should send a chill up your spine.”
“If we go into a general election, Ron doesn’t defeat Biden. Trump is head-to-head with Biden. On a good day, he’s up by two. Wall Street Journal had him up by four points. That’s margin of error. I’m in every single one of those polls. I defeat Joe Biden by 17 points.”
A recent Wall Street Journal poll showed Haley beating Biden in a general election by 17 points. Other polls have also shown that Haley would defeat Biden, although the margins fall between four and 17 points.
“And that’s a mandate for a strong America that we can be proud of. Don’t you want that?”
After Haley mentions her projected 17-point margin against Biden, she says that sort of a win would lead to a mandate in Washington to address a litany of issues, including stopping what she believes is wasteful spending, getting the economy back on track, securing the border and getting education back to the basics. She finishes with this line about a strong America.
The Iowa caucuses begin Monday at 6 p.m. ET. Haley will head to New Hampshire on Tuesday to continue campaigning ahead of the state’s primary Jan. 23.