TROY, Michigan — Michigan Republicans are realistic regarding former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley‘s prospects in the 2024 GOP presidential primary election before the state’s nominating contest and Super Tuesday.
Even some of the attendees at one of her two events in Michigan this week before the Great Lakes State’s Republican primary on Tuesday and conventions on Saturday concede a need for the GOP to coalesce behind former President Donald Trump so the party can defeat President Joe Biden in November’s general election.
Haley should have suspended her campaign last weekend after she lost the South Carolina Republican primary to Trump by 20 percentage points, according to Kyle Schimeck, 26, who was at the former governor’s event in Troy on Sunday.
“When your home state is also saying, ‘We’re going Trump,’ I think that’s when it’s like, ‘OK, time to drop out,'” the Sterling Heights high school history teacher told the Washington Examiner.
Richard Shelton, 51, agreed it was not “wise” for Haley’s campaign to proceed, even if she was his “preference” and he understood “why she’s staying in.”
“Four straight losses is pretty telling,” the Troy resident, who is in sales, said of the Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina primary contests. “It’s pretty clear that Trump is going to win again and so it’s time to start bringing the party in together.”
Schimeck, a Republican delegate who is deciding between Trump and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., described being disappointed by Haley’s “old Republican talking points” and telling reporters she raised roughly $1 million in the 24 hours after polls closed in South Carolina and she lost the state 60% to 39.5%.
“I am fairly interested to see who’s the ones that are donating,” he said. “It’s, like, not to say that Nikki Haley can’t win a primary. She could probably win Vermont, but Vermont is a fairly liberal Republican state. … It’s basically just throwing money onto a fire.”
Haley does not have a lead in any poll of the upcoming Republican primary contests, according to GOP strategist Cesar Conda.
“She doesn’t have a pathway to the Republican nomination,” Conda said in a text message. “Donor money that could be otherwise spent on critical GOP House and Senate races is being wasted. It’s time for the Republican Party to unite behind Donald Trump.”
Republican complaints are underscored by organizations, such as PrimaryPower, encouraging Democrats and independents to take part in the GOP primary election, “protecting our democracy” and “diminishing the chances” of Trump in the general.
“At this point, it’s all about damaging Donald Trump,” PrimaryPower Executive Director Robert Schwartz said in Troy. “For a very small investment, we’ve been able to get tens of thousands of voters to vote against Donald Trump. And what that does is it causes Donald Trump to have to spend down resources attacking Nikki Haley instead of attacking Joe Biden.”
But as people and groups, most notably Americans for Prosperity Action, a super political action committee, reconsider their support of Haley, she only appealed to Keyon Green, 49, after the New Hampshire primary, specifically during her appearance on The Breakfast Club in January as part of her new, more mainstream media strategy, which included a spot on Saturday Night Live this month.
“She should just keep going,” the Pontiac quality manager said. “The more she gets her message out, the more people hear it, and the more people start to realize she’s the real deal.”
Green, a black man who cast a ballot for Biden in 2020, had concerns with the president’s decision-making and, with respect to Trump, the justice system.
“I don’t know if the age is a factor, I just don’t think he makes great decisions,” Green said of Biden. “When it comes to the border, when it comes to fiscal responsibility, I just don’t think he makes great decisions.”
Brent and McKell Woodland, both 30, of Troy, were similarly unhappy with Biden and Trump, but appreciated the opportunity to express their displeasure through Haley.
“What democracy is all about is having the freedom to choose, and I think it’s important to have choices,” Brent Woodland, a physician, said. “She’s had a great run. She’s going against two incumbents, which is very hard,” wife McKell, a computer scientist, added.
Brian Kischnick, 55, a former Troy city manager who was convicted on federal bribery charges in 2019, additionally asked whether “Biden is the guy for the next four years” and whether “Trump is going to be around to be in the position to be the president.”
“So Nikki Haley is the next best choice,” the Bloomfield Hills consultant said. “You don’t know what’s going to happen to Trump. I like Ramaswamy, right? I mean, I like Vivek. I wish this guy and her would run. I think that fresh, intelligent persona with an academic and entrepreneurial spirit, that’s the kind of guy we want, or woman, and I think Nikki Haley might have that too.”
Haley defended not suspending her campaign during a modified stump speech in Troy on Sunday. Troy is a northern Detroit suburb and the largest city in Oakland County.
“You can’t have a candidate who’s going to win a primary who can’t win a general,” Haley said. “You look at those first early states. They can say Donald Trump won. I give him that. But he, as a Republican incumbent, didn’t get 40% of the vote of the primary.”
“So the issue at hand is he’s not going to get the 40% if he’s going and calling out my supporters and saying they’re barred permanently from MAGA,” she continued. “He’s not gonna get the 40% by calling them names. He’s not going to get to 40% by trying to take over the [Republican National Committee], so it pays all his legal fees. He’s not going to get the 40% if he is not willing to change and do something that acknowledges the 40%. And why should the 40% have to cave to him?”
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Haley had one more event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Monday before she travels to the March 5 Super Tuesday states of Colorado, Minnesota, and Utah. Her campaign announced a million-dollar Super Tuesday cable TV and digital platform ad buy last week before the South Carolina primary.
