As Jeff Charles wrote on the matter: 

It appears the former governor has carved out a distinct niche in the Republican field. Haley’s candidacy seems to resonate with moderates who are repelled by Trump’s candidacy, but are not exactly gung-ho about President Biden. It suggests that a large chunk of her supporters come from the traditional establishment stock, which Trump upended when he was elected in 2016. Haley appears to be popular among the NeverTrump crowd, which seems to yearn for the part to go back to its pre-Trump years.

This is a sizeable crowd to be sure, and a very motivated one as well. Their hatred of Trump runs so deep that they admit they'd be willing to vote for Biden again if Trump gets the nomination. They claim Trump won't have the support to defeat Biden, and judging by their declarations of being willing to vote for Biden, their prophecy would be self-fulfilling. 

This is a scary prospect for many Americans who would rather see an angry badger in the Oval Office than Biden, under the assumption the badger wouldn't be as corrupt and less of an embarrassment to the country.

But while Haley might be enjoying a spike in popularity here and there, she should be very careful that America doesn't learn too much about her, especially when it comes to who seems to be leaning her way. 

Firstly, Haley is a last-ditch desperation effort by a group of Republicans to elevate an alternative to Trump but make no mistake, many of these are ultimately Biden voters. They are Republicans who are as good as Democrats, and if you look at recent Republican history, these types have very disappointing ends to their careers. 

For instance, you need only look at the fates of Liz Cheney and Kevin McCarthy. Cheney was actively working with Democrats all the time to take Trump down and she was kicked out of her office by angry Republicans who were sick of her giving more time and support to her Democrat colleagues than doing her job. McCarthy was even too bipartisan to the point of being a pushover and he was ousted as Speaker of the House and his career is approaching a fizzled-out end. 

Haley only needs to be associated with the left for her to become as unpopular, and this association in the minds of Americans is inevitable. There are many people out there attempting to educate their fellow Americans, including Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who launched a "#NeverNikki" campaign, listing many reasons Republicans should flat-out reject her. 

The more popular she gets, the more people will look into her, and the more people will likely reject her out of hand. 

But that's not the only thing that leads me to believe her sudden spike in popularity is ill-fated. 

Yes, a sizeable group of Republicans want to reject Trump so badly that they'll give Haley their support...but Trump's popularity is made up of more than just Republicans. As I discussed in a previous article, Trump's popularity consists of Americans from all walks of life. While many support him because they liked him and his presidency during his first term, many are fueled by spite for the current administration and the Democrat's treatment of the country. 

(READ: Trump's Popularity in the Polls Might Not Be About His Popularity)

Trump’s popularity isn’t necessarily about Trump. pic.twitter.com/31cnf95PaR

— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) January 14, 2024

The chances of Haley overpowering Trump in the Republican primary are incredibly minimal. The question is whether or not there are enough Republicans to vote for anyone else but Trump to hand Democrats the win in 2024. 

Editor's Note: This article was revised post-publication to provide updated polling numbers.