In almost any other scenario, describing someone who is down 40-50 points in national polls as “rising” would likely elicit a description akin to “delusional.” Still, this is Republican Party politics in the Trump era, and with looming indictments and nary a vote cast in a primary, as the late Yankees great Yogi Berra would say, “It ain’t over till it’s over.”Nikki Haley, the first candidate not named Donald Trump to enter the race for the 2024 nomination, is the Republican candidate showing the most gains over the last couple of months. There is a path for her to get the nomination, but it is razor-thin and relies in part on circumstances beyond her control.BIDEN ADMISSION ABOUT 2024 HESITANCY FUELS CRITICISM OF A 'DELUSIONAL' CAMPAIGNHaley has improved in recent early state polls. While she remains in third place in Iowa polling, behind Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Trump, she took over second place in New Hampshire and South Carolina, the latter no doubt aided by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) dropping out of the race. The bad news for Haley is that, according to FiveThirtyEight, Trump’s polling average is above 50% in the state.Betting markets also have Trump in a dominating position, with Haley surpassing DeSantis. PredictIt currently has a "Yes" for Trump about who will win the 2024 GOP nomination at 76 cents, while Haley sits at 19 cents, and DeSantis is a distant third...