February 24th’s South Carolina primary was supposed to be the coming out party for Nikki Haley. While the former governor of South Carolina was already well known to voters, her numbers in the poll just haven’t been high enough to make her a viable option as President. A message she hoped to change with her home state voters.
That’s not what happened. Instead, it was an embarrassment as Trump won significantly…
Essentially called minutes after it opened, Haley only gained 39.5% of the vote, with Trump taking 59.8%. Still getting three delegates compared to the 47 for Trump, Haley thinks she can hand in on the race and continue to make ripples in the election. Following the vote count, Haley said, “I want to congratulate Donald Trump on his victory, and I want to thank the people of South Carolina for using their voice. No matter the results, I love the people of our great state.”
Maintaining the message, she added, “This has never been about me or my political future. We need to beat Joe Biden in November. I don’t believe Donald Trump can beat Joe Biden… I’m not giving up this fight when a majority of Americans disapprove of Donald Trump and Joe Biden.”
Her reluctance to give up is a strong sign that she expects Trump to be ineligible to be on the ballot come November. No matter how it happens, Haley seems assured that it will, and by staying in a losing race, she seems to believe that this would make her the clear choice for the GOP to face down Biden or Harris. As she has mentioned Harris being on the ticket instead of Biden, it seems likely that she has no plans to abandon the race.
