HOLLIS, N.H. — Nikki Haley seems to be learning what voters want to hear — and what they don’t — as she travels.

The former governor of South Carolina joined a small group of supporters in Hollis, N.H., the second in a pair of planned stops in the Granite State that comes as her presidential campaign struggles to keep up with other conservatives vying to unseat Donald Trump from the top of the Republican ticket and despite her blazing a campaign trail through the several early primary states.

Haley, who served under the 45th President as his Ambassador to the United Nations, delivered an almost identical speech Tuesday to others she’s provided to first-in-the-nation primary voters before, complete with the same self-deprecating jokes about her personal and political past but occasionally varying outside of party talking points.

The former governor seemed to surprise the audience somewhat when she made it clear that the current state of the economy cannot be laid entirely at the feet of the sitting Democratic president.

“I would love to tell you that Biden did that to us, but you will learn to know that I will always tell hard truths and I’m going to do that with you today. Our Republicans did that to us, too,” she said. “You go back and you look at that $2.2 trillion COVID stimulus bill that they passed with no accountability that expanded welfare that has now left us with 90 million Americans on Medicaid and 42 million Americans on food stamps.”

“Did Republicans try to make it right?” she asked. “They doubled down and opened up earmarks for the first time in 10 years, pushing through 7,000 of them in December.”

Haley began taking questions from the audience at the close of the event and as the rain started to fall. The governor stood through several wet inquiries before calling it a night.

“We have to talk about what matters,” Haley said.

Currently polling in fifth out of a field of about a dozen serious candidates, Haley seemed to have learned from past appearances, dodging previously made assertions against transgender people which drew sounds of shock from an audience in May and focusing more on issues of foreign policy that she could speak to from her past at the U.N. and veterans concerns.

She did not attack or mention her former boss, who is dominating at the top of the Republican field and leading the next closest candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, by about 40 points. Haley is averaging 3.5% support among polled conservatives.

Haley, an accountant, said that if elected she would eliminate earmarks and veto any spending bill that doesn’t return the country to pre-COVID spending levels. She said she would defund so-called sanctuary cities and institute “catch and deport” instead of “catch of release.”

“What has Congress done for you lately?” she asked, later suggesting term limits for lawmakers in the House and Senate.

“We have to do it,” she said.