New Hampshire Republicans 'disappointed' Nikki Haley isn't fighting harder in the state

MANCHESTER, N.H. — As Republicans here seek a standard-bearer, Nikki Haley is making herself scarce, and GOP insiders say that could doom her long-shot bid to beat former President Donald Trump in Tuesday's primary.

Haley has forced the cancellation of two planned debates in New Hampshire — one sponsored by ABC News and the other by CNN — by refusing to go toe-to-toe with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Her schedule is light on campaign stops in a state where candidates typically pack their days with events. And, since failing to identify slavery as a cause of the Civil War last month, she has stopped taking questions on stage from voters.

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Haley's team is gambling that less of her will end up being more in a race that is down to three candidates, with one of them — DeSantis — already having decided to pack it in and move his fading campaign to South Carolina.

That's a bad bet, said Dave Carney, a veteran New Hampshire-based Republican strategist who described the state's history of vetting presidential candidates through free-flowing town hall-style forums as sacred. Haley’s refusal to debate and take questions at her first post-Iowa event in the state could kill her campaign, he said.

“As an incumbent, maybe, or somebody who’s a front-runner — sure, you’re ahead, you’re not taking any risks,” Carney, who is neutral in the race, added. “But when you’re in second place? You need to throw f---ing Hail Marys. You have five nights left.”

In interviews with more than a half-dozen Republican officials and party strategists familiar with New Hampshire presidential primaries, NBC News found none who thought Haley would benefit by keeping her distance from voters. But she is also dealing with the