By Gram Slattery
BRETTON WOODS, New Hampshire (Reuters) - The New Hampshire primary is only a week away but, so far, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has done most of his campaigning 1,000 miles (1,610 km) to the southwest in balmy South Carolina.
Having spent a huge proportion of his time and resources in Iowa, which held the first Republican presidential nominating contest, DeSantis faces exceptionally tough odds in New Hampshire, a state his campaign has left in a state of relative neglect.
Only about 6% of Granite Staters, as New Hampshire residents are known, plan to vote for DeSantis, according to polling averages, versus about 30% for former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and 43% for former President Donald Trump. Some recent polls have shown the top two in a much closer battle.
DeSantis’ solution, in part, is to focus on somewhat friendlier terrain and to remind voters that Haley's popularity in New Hampshire is not a national phenomenon.
After finishing a distant second in Iowa on Monday night, DeSantis flew directly to Haley's home state of South Carolina, which holds a nominating contest in late February, rather than going straight to New Hampshire, as is tradition.
"She was governor here for six years. Can you name major achievements under her tenure?” he said at a campaign stop in Greenville, South Carolina, on Tuesday. “I mean, tell me if there are because she hasn't been able to do it.”
Trump is ahead of both DeSantis and his former U.N. ambassador by a wide margin in South Carolina, with polling averages showing him with nearly 55% support compared with Haley at almost 25% and DeSantis at 12%.
His initial campaign plans in New Hampshire have faced challenges. An event scheduled in western New Hampshire for Tuesday night was postponed when a short but intense blizzard swept through the region, though he did participate in a televised town hall with CNN's Wolf Blitzer in the New England state. Another event on Wednesday morning in the mountain town of Jackson also was delayed due to bad weather.
Haley, meanwhile, pushed ahead with an event on Tuesday evening - also in the northern mountains - despite blizzard conditions. She did not mention DeSantis.
In other news from the campaign trail:
DEBATE STAGE GOES DARK
New Hampshire voters were expecting to see two Republican debates in their state ahead of its primary next Tuesday.
Now they won't get any.
CNN on Wednesday said it was canceling its debate scheduled for Sunday after Haley said she would no longer attend such events unless Trump also participated.
The announcement came a day after ABC News said it was calling off its debate, slated for Thursday, after only DeSantis agreed to take part.
Despite her third-place finish in Iowa, Haley has sought to frame the Republican race as a two-person contest between her and Trump, who trounced his rivals in the first nominating contest.
Haley criticized Trump in a post on X for skipping the five previous Republican debates, adding: "The next debate I do will either be with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden."
Trump has countered all of the debates with his own events.