Nikki Haley made strides for women in politics. There’s just one problem: Trump

NASHUA, New Hampshire — Nikki Haley has already gone farther than any Republican woman before her who ran for president.

For months, she has joked about the high heels she wears, and, without fail, blasts a post-rally soundtrack of “American Girl” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Sheryl Crow’s “Woman in the White House.” In every early nominating and Super Tuesday state, Haley has established a “Women for Nikki” chapter — groups of female volunteers who urge their friends and neighbors, including those who are not ordinarily politically active, to get behind the former South Carolina governor.

But with Haley running behind Donald Trump by double digits in New Hampshire, and only polling about even with him among women — she is also testing the limits of how much voters care.

“It was bad enough, they elected him the first time,” said Thalia Floras, a 61-year-old Haley supporter from Nashua, who changed her voter registration this fall from Democrat to undeclared. “But this time, they know what they got. And they're doing it again.”

As Haley has campaigned here over the past week, a galling reality has settled in on supporters who saw her candidacy as a step forward for women in politics. Not only was she trailing. She was losing to the man who famously won despite his “grab ‘em” and “blood coming out of her wherever” remarks in 2016 — and seems to be cruising to the nomination even after a jury found him liable for sexual assault and defamation, accusations Trump has denied.

“That’s my biggest fear, that he gets in. The way he has spoken about women …” Kathy Kelley, a 69-year-old retired educator from Hudson, said at a Haley event over the weekend, trailing off and shaking her head. “I still can’t watch Billy Bush.”