Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is looking to lock down her first win of the primary cycle with the U.S. Virgin Islands, which holds its caucuses Feb. 8, after ceding the Nevada caucuses to former President Donald Trump and deciding not to compete in the state.
Haley campaigned virtually in the U.S. Virgin Islands, speaking to Republican Party officials for the second time in recent weeks on Monday, in the hope of snagging the territory’s four delegates. A group of Republicans gathered on St. Croix at the Buccaneer hotel to participate in the virtual reception, while others from the islands of St. John and St. Thomas joined via Zoom.
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After defeats in Iowa and New Hampshire, the former South Carolina governor attempted to focus on the progress the campaign has made, highlighting that she is the only remaining GOP candidate facing the front-runner former president.
“We have now gotten a dozen out of the race. There’s just one more fellow we’re trying to catch up to. And when you think about what happened, we started at 2%. In Iowa, we ended up at 20%,” Haley said to voters on Monday night in the U.S. territory ahead of a rally in South Carolina. “Then, in New Hampshire, we wanted to grow more, we got 43%,” she added.
Haley’s campaign is devoting most of its time and resources to the Palmetto State and is looking toward Super Tuesday contests. Her campaign said Monday it is not “putting an ounce of energy” into this week’s dueling primary and caucuses in Nevada. Haley vowed her campaign will continue after South Carolina.
“After South Carolina, we’re going to Michigan. We’re going on to Super Tuesday. And we continue to add, and that’s the goal to continue to build on that momentum,” Haley said. “I hope that we can build on that momentum here in the Virgin Islands too because I think it’s so important. And so we want to make sure that we do that.”
During the question and answer portion of the event, Haley was asked if she could support efforts to allow the U.S. Virgin Islands and other territories to participate in the general election. Although residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands and other territories are U.S. citizens, they are not able to vote in presidential elections. Haley sidestepped fully answering the question.
“I want those in territories to have equality just like every other American. I think when it comes to statehood or comes to voting, we have to look at that. I’d be willing to sit down and talk about that,” Haley said, answering the question delicately. “I don’t know if I’m willing to say, ‘Yes, we need to do that’ because we need to look at all of the other territories involved and what that means.”
“I do think, you know, it’s good that you now have this caucus and you’re able to do that,” Haley said, referring to the primary caucus process on the island. “I think it’s worth us sitting down and talking about how we would go forward with something like that, but I don’t know that I can commit to that today.”
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), who served with Haley in the South Carolina Statehouse and is her sole congressional endorsement, has been out to the island as a surrogate for the campaign and has helped organize. However, the campaign maintains it has not spent any money in the U.S. territory.
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“We have not spent money there, and like we’ve said before, caucuses generally tend to benefit Trump given the fact that he is the former president and has been the leader of the party for the last eight years,” said Betsy Ankeny, Haley’s campaign manager during a call with reporters on Monday.
“We have done some things in the Virgin Islands. We do think it’s important. Nikki has made it clear that she is working to gain those votes, but we have not spent resources there,” Ankeny added.
