Welcome to another week of Matter of Faith. I’m in the thick of covering the New Hampshire primary, and there will be so much more to talk about related to that. For now, there’s plenty we need to discuss about the showdown between Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and former Pres. Donald Trump for the GOP presidential ticket.

This week we’re talking about white Evangelicals, feminism and reproductive rights. Let’s get into it:

Former governor of South Carolina and Trump Administration Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is the rising star of the Republican race for the nomination this summer.

While former Pres. Donald Trump had a runaway victory in Iowa, Haley’s campaign said they expect a stronger showing this week in New Hampshire. Poll data shows the gap between Haley and Trump is closing fast.

“Think of the fact that you might be making history in this moment,” Haley told Iowa voters in an event in Cedar Falls the weekend before the Iowa caucuses. “And I’m not talking about the history of a female president. I’m talking about history saying we are going to finally right the ship in America. We’re finally going to get it right.”

Button text: How Haley’s brand of feminism fits with conservative history

By Katelyn Burns

Republicans in New Hampshire will turn up at their local polling locations today to cast a vote for their preferred candidate. It is the second stop of the Republican primary season and yesterday’s race was between former president Donald Trump and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley.

A large margin of victory for Trump in New Hampshire might spell an early end to this year’s Republican primary campaign season. The Granite State has a proud independent streak, and the state very rarely votes for the winner of the previous Iowa caucus. On Tuesday, Trump broke that unofficial tradition and snapped up his second primary season victory.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced Friday that he’s dropping out of the race, leaving Haley and Trump as the final candidates left standing in the freezing chill of northern New England.

Read more about why New Hampshire is the last bastion of retail politics

For further reading:

Here’s the latest on the New Hampshire primary results and other big news to pay attention to this week:

Just a note:

If you enjoyed today’s Matter of Faith, send it to a friend. My goal with this newsletter is to leave you feeling a little less overwhelmed and confused when faith, sex and politics get tangled up in your life.

If you have a story or a question, you can send an email to [email protected] or you can find me online on Instagram, Threads and X.

Keep wandering 😉