WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Former President Donald Trump won New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary Jan. 23, defeating his last remaining rival, former U.N. Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, in the key contest. Haley signaled her intent to stay in the race.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden received a key endorsement in his reelection campaign, and a Catholic lawmaker introduced a bill to reauthorize a commission seeking to protect religious liberty as a human right around the globe.
Trump wins New Hampshire primary, but data shows potential weak spots
Trump’s victory in New Hampshire follows a victory in the Iowa caucus. Despite indications Trump may secure his party’s nomination, the results in New Hampshire indicate Trump has some key areas of weakness with moderate Republicans and swing voters, which could spell trouble for his campaign in the general election.
Trump won the primary with approximately 54% of the votes, compared to Haley’s 43%. But Fox News’ polling unit voter analysis found 62% of unaffiliated voters in New Hampshire supported Haley, and 35% of Republicans surveyed said they would not vote for Donald Trump in the general election.
Similarly, an AP VoteCast survey of primary voters found that among the independent voters in New Hampshire’s GOP primary, 68% said they wouldn’t vote for Trump in November if he were the nominee.
“The defections — that’s the killer,” Mike Madrid, a Republican strategist in California, told The Wall Street Journal. “There’s a weakness problem. You can debate how big or how small his problem is with the Republican base, but one thing you can’t debate is that it’s bigger than in 2020 and he lost in 2020.”
With regard to the outcome in New Hampshire, Robert Schmuhl, professor emeritus of American studies at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, who critically observes the modern American presidency, told OSV News, “The question, of course, is whether his base will be large enough to win a national election as opposed to these nominating contests.”
Biden endorsed by United Auto Workers
The United Auto Workers endorsed President Joe Biden’s reelection bid Jan. 24, casting Biden as the strategic choice for the group’s goals for union workers.
“This November, we can stand up and elect someone who wants to stand with us and support our cause. Or we can elect someone who will divide us and fight us every step of the way,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement. “That’s what this choice is about. The question is, who do we want in that office to give us the best shot of winning? Of organizing. Of negotiating strong contracts. Of uniting the working class and winning our fair share once again, as our union has done so many times in our nation’s history. We need to know who’s going to sit in the most powerful seat in the world and help us win as a united working class.”
In September, Biden made history when he joined striking autoworkers in Michigan, becoming the first sitting president to join a union picket line, an unprecedented show of support to striking workers by a chief executive.
In remarks to the group’s National Community Action Program Conference, Biden said Jan. 24, “Look, I kept my commitment to be the most pro-union president ever, and I’m proud you have my back. Let me just say I’m honored to have your back and you have mine. That’s the deal.”
Both Biden and Trump have appealed for union votes, while Trump’s rival Nikki Haley ran as a “union-buster.” However Fain told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto the UAW’s endorsement did not necessarily mean a majority of union member votes, as “they’re gonna vote for an economy that works for them.”
The Catholic Church has an extensive history of teaching and actions supporting the rights of workers, and both popes and prelates have spoken directly to the issue of unions and strikes. In his 1891 encyclical “Rerum Novarum,” Pope Leo XIII urged workers to organize “societies for mutual help,” emphasizing “the most important of all are workingmen’s unions.” Popes have expounded on this teaching then, with Pope Francis more recently stating succinctly “there are no free workers without trade unions.”
Catholic lawmaker introduces bipartisan bill to reauthorize U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
Prior to the upcoming International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., chair of the House Global Human Rights Subcommittee, introduced bipartisan legislation (HR 7025) to reauthorize the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which is set to expire later this year, through September 2026.
The bill was co-sponsored by Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., and Henry Cuellar, D-Texas.
“The US Commission on International Religious Freedom is the US government’s strongest and most respected voice for victims of religious persecution worldwide,” Smith, a Catholic, said in a statement.
Since 1998, the independent commission has been tasked with defending freedom of religion or belief as a universal human right, analyzes religious freedom violations around the globe, and makes policy recommendations to the president, Congress, and the State Department.
Eshoo, who also is Catholic and part of the Chaldean Church, said in a statement, “As the daughter of immigrants who fled religious persecution abroad, I believe the U.S. has a special responsibility to stand up for the rights of religious minorities around the world.”
“That’s why I’m proud to co-lead this bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an organization that plays a vital role in ensuring that freedom of religion remains a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy,” Eshoo said.
The group has recently made policy recommendations regarding a rise in antisemitism, China’s genocide against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs, and the Nicaraguan government’s arrests and deportation of Catholic clergy and religious.
