As RedState reported on Monday, former South Carolina Governor and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley was going to give a big "State of Race" speech.
And so she did Tuesday, addressing a crowd in Greenville, South Carolina. Despite speculation that she might drop out from the contest following losses in Iowa and New Hampshire, Haley appeared to be undeterred. She asserted her commitment to remaining in the fight and indicated her intention to pursue the nomination all the way to the Republican National Convention.
In a “state of the race” speech, @NikkiHaley vows to stay in the GOP presidential race, and says she is “far from” dropping out.
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) February 20, 2024
More: https://t.co/8i0GffPgz5 #NewsNationNow pic.twitter.com/6CjlSoUzDY
However, recent polls in her home state of South Carolina show former President Trump at 71 percent and Haley at 29 percent among voters who affiliate as Republicans. The only argument Haley could make is that registered Independent voters prefer her in her home state, 54 percent to Trump's 46 percent. But the gap in the lead is nowhere near Trump leading Haley among Republicans, and it won't sway the outcome as it would in Michigan, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin during a general election.
The Trump campaign believes they will clinch the amount of delegates needed to be the nominee within the next four weeks.
The Trump campaign predicted the former president will clinch the necessary delegates to become the presumptive Republican nominee for president no later than March 19, arguing Nikki Haley has no path to victory. https://t.co/HCSbEhFBqK pic.twitter.com/YfpNVSL31a
— The Hill (@thehill) February 20, 2024
Some have suggested that Haley is staying in the race in case Trump goes to prison. If that were the case, DeSantis would have stayed in the race, too. But DeSantis knows that he will likely be the frontrunner in 2028 and dropped out right before the New Hampshire primary.
Podcaster Tim Pool and a co-host on his show think Haley will be the Republican nominee. Pool said:
Maybe not guaranteed, but maybe she is there because they are planning to do something to Trump. Nikki Haley makes no sense. Any way you put it, there's zero reason for her to be in a race because she can't win, and all the Trump supporters are laughing at her. There's only one reason she's in the race: she is crossing her fingers and begging that Donald Trump goes to prison.
.@timcast says "Nikki Haley makes no sense ... There's only one reason she's in the race: she is crossing her fingers and begging that Donald Trump goes to prison." pic.twitter.com/EX07Li1S97
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) February 20, 2024
If she loses in South Carolina, as the polls indicate, what is her path forward if and when Trump becomes the GOP nominee? Not just in the 2024 Presidential primary, but her political future? In 2028, she would be remembered as the candidate who "finished in second place" but who also lost her home state, and possibly all 50 states, while Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Glenn Youngkin (R-VA), and Kristi Noem (R-SD), as well as entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, among others, could be gearing up for a 2028 presidential run.
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