In her prime: Nikki Haley, in exclusive interview, talks about the 2024 GOP path to victory

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Nikki Haley was disappointed, but not surprised, when Don Lemon questioned whether she was in her “prime” as a woman.

“It was surprising how ridiculous it was,” Haley told USA TODAY in an interview in New Hampshire, a key early voting state that could prove pivotal in the 2024 Republican primary race.

The former CNN host’s comments, which came a day after Haley formally announced her presidential campaign, were perhaps a boon to Haley’s newly launched campaign back in February. The remarks reignited a discussion across the country about the reality for female politicians compared with that of their male counterparts.

But it also revealed a potential path for Haley’s campaign, which risks getting drowned out by a crowded presidential field as front-runners former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suck up much of the oxygen.

The former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations is the only woman in the GOP field, and she could have unique access to a highly coveted voting bloc that could make or break elections: suburban women.

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Haley on suburban women: ‘I know the challenges they face’

The two largely perceived front-runners to take the GOP nomination, Trump and DeSantis, have their own weaknesses with suburban women.

Trump’s vulnerability was on full display at his CNN town hall in New Hampshire in April when he derided writer E. Jean Carroll as a "whack job" after he was found liable by a jury to have sexually abused and defamed her.

DeSantis, while still considered a front-runner in the race, has slightly fallen from grace over concerns about his personality and his apparent refusal to publicly discuss a six-week abortion ban he signed in Florida. DeSantis headlined the annual gala of a Florida anti-abortion group in May but barely mentioned the ban.

Haley believes she is in a unique position as the only candidate in the GOP field to be able to capture those key voters.

“I know the challenges they face. I know whether they’re taking care of elderly parents because I’m doing that. I know about their spouses in the military. I’m a military wife. I know about that,” Haley told USA TODAY. “I know about raising children and the concerns you have.

“Women are used to balancing, but at the same time, they focus on everything from national security to fiscal policy to their kid’s education to safety to the open borders.”

Many people can figure out what suburban women want and care about in a candidate – but Haley said she is uniquely equipped to communicate with them and reach out.

“I know not only what they care about, but I also know how to communicate that to them because I can relate to what they’re feeling.”

Related: GOP presidential hopefuls Nikki Haley, Tim Scott are on good terms. But for how long?

Haley commits to signing national abortion ban in New Hampshire

Haley has walked a tightrope on talking through a political debate that has been touchy for Republicans but incredibly important with women and swing voters: abortion. Haley on Wednesday committed to signing a federal abortion ban if it was brought to her desk as president, but she noted she believes the prospect of a national ban getting through Congress is unlikely.

“I’m unapologetically pro-life,” she said.

Speaking at Saint Anselm College and the New England Council’s Politics and Eggs event, a rite of passage for any presidential candidate passing through the Granite State, an audience member asked Haley how she can reconcile her anti-abortion stance with New Hampshire, a state the attendee described as “overwhelmingly pro-choice.”

Haley told her she was sticking by her position but added, “It’s incredibly personal, and I’m going to treat it with the respect it deserves.”

In her interview with USA TODAY, she echoed an earlier speech on abortion delivered at Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America’s headquarters, where she called for stronger family services and easier access to contraception for women.

“We need to have better support services for women. The part of having access to contraception is making sure that you’re giving them as much control over the situation as they can.”

New Hampshire GOP voter: Haley ‘understands what mothers go through’

It is unclear so far how that message will fly with voters who support abortion rights, but among women in the GOP primary electorate who are anti-abortion, those voters say they want more talk from candidates at supporting families beyond just abortion restrictions.

“One thing that’s great about Nikki is that she understands what mothers go through and all of that internal dialogue and stress of being pregnant and having a family and trying to care for your family,” said Danielle Evansic, 48, a voter from Bedford.

Evansic said she has yet to decide on any candidate in the GOP primary but has been impressed by Haley and added that she was not too familiar with her until after Lemon’s “prime” comment put her in the national spotlight.

“I thought it was amazingly rude of him to say that a woman is not in her prime,” Evansic said. “She’s worked her way up to where she is.”

Kathy Powell, 75, also from Bedford, said a Republican as the first female president is an “excellent idea.”

“I think it’s fantastic,” said Powell, an undecided voter. “She’s very capable. I have no doubt she could do the job.”

As 2024 GOP competition intensifies, Haley’s support in N.H. is falling

Since announcing her campaign, Haley has not shied away from her underdog status in her stump speeches. Her underdog candidacy, she tells voters at her town halls, only motivates her on the campaign trail.

Haley has made frequent stops in New Hampshire, a state some see as the pinnacle of retail politics. She has hosted multiple town halls and rubbed shoulders with Granite State voters shopping for GOP candidates. But it is unclear whether it is enough, especially now with the competition getting more intense.

In January, while Haley was teasing her presidential campaign, she had 8% support among likely GOP voters in New Hampshire − a sign that there could be room for her in the primary − in a poll by the University of New Hampshire. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3%.

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But since then, Haley’s polling numbers have fallen as more candidates enter the field. In a poll by the University of New Hampshire in April, Haley had 3% support. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3%.

“She’s been coming here for an awful long time,” Jason Osborne, New Hampshire state House Republican leader, told USA TODAY. “It just doesn’t seem to be happening.”

Osborne, who is backing DeSantis, noted he could not dismiss Haley’s campaign, given how much time she has spent in New Hampshire. What he could dismiss was her poor polling performance. Leading up to primary day, “anything could happen,” Osborne said, adding that his thoughts were “just one guy’s opinion.”

Haley dismisses polling performance in New Hampshire

When asked about her largely unmoved polling performance in New Hampshire, Haley said she is absolutely unconcerned with the horserace. She pointed to former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s lead in Iowa, where he led the GOP field in the summer of 2015 but dropped out before the state’s caucuses after his support drastically fell.

“This is a marathon, it’s not a sprint. I’m not concerned with where things are now. I’m concerned about touching as many voters as we can and watching that go,” Haley said. “It’s slow and steady wins the race.”

By the end of Wednesday, Haley’s campaign says, she had hosted 28 grassroots events in New Hampshire and 22 events in Iowa. For now, her pace does not appear to be slowing anytime soon.

'A toxic issue': How voters are forcing GOP contenders to talk about abortion ahead of 2024

Doug Bianchi, 76, a Navy veteran from Milford, lamented to Haley that the U.S. has yet to see a woman in the presidency.

“The bad thing about it is that women didn’t even get the right to vote until the '20s and they’re still being repressed in not only the work and homes, everything. And it’s time for the United States to put a good dependable woman in the (presidency),” Bianchi told Haley at a town hall Wednesday.

“I want to take you on the road with me,” Haley said, joking with her staff to get Bianchi a Nikki Haley jacket.

After the town hall, Haley embraced Bianchi, who recently had a stroke, and wished him well.

Bianchi said he sees something in Haley he has not seen in other presidential candidates whom he has followed since former President Harry Truman.

“She’s finally getting to be progressive instead of regressive like all the men are," Bianchi said. "Not just Republicans, but the Democrats too. They’re all in an old-boy network.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Exclusive: Nikki Haley talks 'prime' and the 2024 GOP path to victory