Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has signaled her intent to continue her presidential bid past South Carolina’s critical Republican primary on Feb. 24, ignoring the calls of other Republicans for her to end her challenge to former President Donald Trump.
In a new poll from Winthrop University, Trump is supported by 65% of likely South Carolina Republican voters. Haley only garnered 29% in her home state, giving the former president a significant 36-point lead with just nine days until the Palmetto State’s Republican primary.
But Haley’s campaign has deployed a rigorous effort to court voters in South Carolina. Days ago, the former ambassador launched a “Beast of the Southeast” bus tour through the state.
“Under Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina became an economic powerhouse, earning the nickname ‘The Beast of the Southeast,’” Haley campaign spokeswoman Brittany Yanick said in a statement. “The Beast of the Southeast bus tour is a testament to Nikki’s hard work and firm belief that every vote must be earned. While Donald Trump uses his campaign as a personal legal defense slush fund, Nikki is fighting to save our country and put Americans first.”
She has further endeavored to remind South Carolinians of her roots in the state under a new campaign tag line, “It’s a great day in South Carolina,” which she used as governor.
Apart from her efforts to boost support in her home state days before the all-important primary, Haley’s team has also demonstrated a commitment to building operations around the country. The campaign announced leadership teams across Idaho, Alaska, Minnesota, California, Massachusetts, Utah, and Washington this month, several of which will be voting in Republican primaries on Super Tuesday.
While Idaho and Washington aren’t Super Tuesday states, their nominating processes will take place in March as well. “So long as Haley is in the race, she needs to campaign aggressively and plan for a long contest,” said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
“Failing to do so would just raise questions about her commitment to the race,” he explained.
Republican strategist Scott Jennings bluntly said of Haley’s forward-looking campaign efforts, “It’s a free country. You are welcome to bang your head against a wall for as long as you can stand it.”
A spokesperson for Haley’s campaign told the Washington Examiner that it is aiming to release leadership teams for three more Super Tuesday states before the end of the week.
Given Haley’s efforts to keep the campaign moving beyond South Carolina and Super Tuesday, Republican strategist John Feehery predicted, “She is going to take it to the convention.”
And “as long as she has the resources, she might as well,” he said.
Political scientist Joshua Putnam of Frontloading HQ pointed out that Haley seems to have a steady stream of money coming in. “And those donors, big and small, expect the campaign to continue,” he said.
At the end of the day, “only Haley, and maybe her financial supporters, know how long she is planning to stay in,” according to Kondik.
“But if you’re gonna be a candidate, be a candidate — which is what Haley is doing,” he said.
Part of her planning beyond South Carolina is motivated by keeping up the appearance of a campaign set for the long haul, Putnam said. “Otherwise, it undermines her efforts in the states between now and Super Tuesday,” he added.
Despite Haley apparently preparing for a long battle for the Republican nomination, Kondik said he’d be “surprised” if she were to beat Trump in “any contest, even demographically favorable states like Massachusetts and Vermont, on Super Tuesday.” He also noted that Trump “should win South Carolina easily,” with his double-digit lead less than two weeks out.
John Mark Hansen, a political science professor at the University of Chicago, claimed Haley is not only “done” now, but “she’s been done from the start.”
He said, though, that this could be an effort to “lay the foundation for another run when Trump crashes and burns or when the party and its voters wake up to the shame of their association with him.”
He further noted that “there are donors out there who want to go down swinging.”
Putnam agreed that “there is no clear path forward” for Haley. He explained that while she may be able to obtain delegates in the Super Tuesday elections, it doesn’t seem likely she would best Trump in any of the contests, which she would need to do to beat his delegate lead.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung echoed this sentiment, calling Haley’s choice to stay in the race a “braindead move by Birdbrain, reeking of desperation as it’s clear she knows she has no shot, and is now auditioning for a cable news contract when her 15 minutes are over.”
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He also noted her choice to keep fundraising and spending, claiming she won’t end her bid “before she can squeeze every last dollar out of her Democrat benefactors.”
Another reason for Haley’s apparent choice to stick it out, posed by Feehery, is that a “rapprochement” between Haley and Trump seems near impossible. However, Trump has noted on several occasions that he is “very forgiving.”
