New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu didn’t waste any time making it official.

As soon as he took the stage at a Manchester, N.H., campaign event, he told the crowd about encountering a “sweet older woman” who stopped him and asked, “So, are you finally going to endorse Nikki Haley?”

“You bet your a** I am!” Sununu exclaimed as the crowd broke into applause. “We’re all in for Nikki Haley!”

Sununu used his brief time onstage to preview what voters — and perhaps just as important, reporters covering the first-in-the-nation primary — can expect over the next 40 days: Energy, enthusiasm and a clearly articulated case for Republicans to take a pass on former president Donald Trump and pick Nikki Haley.

“The rest of the country is looking to New Hampshire,” Sununu told the 200 people who packed the small venue. “We always take pride. We never choose yesterday’s news.”

As for the possibility of a Biden vs. Trump 2024 general election, Sununu was dismissive.

“We have a president that’s more concerned about his nap time and a (former) president that’s worried about his jail time.”

Trump’s time is over, Sununu argued. “We’re not going to … bring somebody forward who is constantly distracted with whatever nonsense and drama that the former president brings to the table. That would be irresponsible on our part. And New Hampshire is where it all starts.

“We have independents who are going to vote here. We have the undeclared; we have the Republican base. Everybody’s going to come out in record numbers. This is not a campaign. This is a movement,” Sununu said to cheers.

Haley appeared to be energized by the endorsement as well.

“It doesn’t get any better than this,” she said. “To get endorsed by the ‘Live Free or Die’ governor is about as rock-solid of an endorsement as we could hope for. I think we need to be a ‘Live Free or Die’ country, but we’ve got some work to do.”

During her remarks, Haley gave her familiar, biography-based stump speech. As she has done throughout the campaign, even after receiving the endorsement of the libertarian-leaning Americans for Prosperity, she continued her support for funding Ukraine’s war against Russian invaders. But she also added Israel and the Oct. 7 Hamas attack to her remarks.

“When we think of what’s happening in Israel, God help us if we don’t get this right,” Haley said.

“Think about what happened on October 7th when they beheaded those people and burned those babies alive and raped those girls at the concert and dragged their naked bodies through the streets of Gaza. What did (the terrorists) shout? ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Death to America.’

“It has never been that Israel needs America. It has always been that America needs Israel,” Haley added. “They are the tip of the spear when it comes to defeating terrorism.”

During the Q&A part of the town hall, one woman inspired gasps when she referenced polls showing Trump continues to hold a significant lead and asked Haley if she would consider being his vice president. Haley told the crowd to relax.

“It’s not that big of a deal of a question,” Haley said.

As for being Trump’s running mate, Haley didn’t issue a Shermanesque rejection. But said she wasn’t interested. “I don’t play for a second.”

And rather than dodge the polls, Haley attempted to turn them on Trump.

“Let’s talk about these national polls,” Haley said. “In almost all of the national polls, Donald Trump and Joe Biden are head to head. On a good day, Trump is up two or four points. In The Wall Street Journal, he was up four points. In those same polls in The Wall Street Journal, I defeat Joe Biden by 17 points. Do you know what a 17-point win means? That means we win governorships. That means we win House seats.

“With a 17-point win, we can finally say, ‘Yes, we are going to close our border once and for all. With a 17-point win, America becomes a ‘Live Free or Die’ country,” Haley added.

The audience liked what it heard.

“I’ve never put a sign in my yard before,” said John Weber of Bedford, N.H., as he picked up a Haley placard outside. Asked why he was backing Haley, Weber said, “I watched her in the debates. She’s smart, she’s cool, and she doesn’t get rattled when people attack her. And the choice between Biden and Trump is a non-choice.”

His wife, Dina, added, “With a big country like this, I can’t believe these are the choices we have.”

Sununu said New Hampshire can give the nation more choices by launching Haley’s candidacy and creating a two-person race. In fact, Sununu told reporters the campaign is already there. “It’s Nikki Haley and Donald Trump — that’s it.”

Michael Graham is the managing editor at InsideSources.com.

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