(NewsNation) — While Nikki Haley didn’t win New Hampshire’s Republican primary, she’s vowing to move forward with her campaign and challenging rival Donald Trump to a debate.
Taking a shot at the former president, Haley told supporters at her election night party that she’s long called for mental competency tests for politicians over the age of 75.
“Trump claims he can do better than me in one of those tests. Maybe he would, maybe he wouldn’t. But if he thinks that, then he should have no problem standing on a debate stage with me,” Haley said.
The former South Carolina governor also congratulated Trump on his victory.
“He earned that, and I want to acknowledge that,” Haley said.
She insisted the race to become the GOP nominee “is far from over” and pledged to take her “scrappy” campaign to her home state of South Carolina, which holds its GOP primary next month.
“This race is far from over. There are dozens of states left to go, and the next one is my sweet state of South Carolina,” Haley said.
She continued: “At one point in this campaign, there were 14 of us running, and we were at 2% in the polls. Well, I’m a fighter, and I’m scrappy. And now, we’re the last one standing next to Donald Trump.”
Trump responded to Haley’s speech on social media.
“Haley said she had to WIN in New Hampshire. SHE DIDN’T!!!” the former president said.
Trump is projected to secure his second election victory in 2024, winning the New Hampshire primary. Haley is hoping her second-place finish can give her enough momentum to continue to South Carolina’s Feb. 24 primary. She’s currently polling at 27% there, 34 points behind Trump, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ.
NewsNation’s Tyler Wornell and The Associated Press contributed to this report.