“I’m not giving up this fight.”
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is still holding onto hope despite four straight primary losses. First, there was her crushing defeat in Iowa and New Hampshire. Then, she placed second in Nevada behind “none of these candidates” — and on Saturday, she lost in her home state of South Carolina, where she once served as a two-term governor. Normally, a candidate would drop out at this point — but not Haley.
After former President Trump handily beat her in the Palmetto State, Haley congratulated him and vowed to stay in the GOP race. “I’m not giving up this fight when a majority of Americans disapprove of Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” she told supporters Saturday night following the election.
Her comments come as voters dread another potential rematch between Trump and former President Biden. According to a Decision Desk HQ/NewsNation poll in late January, around 59 percent of registered voters are “not too enthusiastic” or “not at all enthusiastic” about the match-up, compared to around 41 percent who said they were “very” or “somewhat” enthusiastic.
Still, Haley faces steep odds of clinching the nomination as conservatives continue to rally behind Trump, who appears to be cruising to the party’s presidential nomination despite facing multiple criminal charges. To make sense of it all, we’re breaking down her latest primary performance and why she’s not backing down.
What were the South Carolina primary results?
Donald Trump continued his winning streak in South Carolina with a 20-point statewide lead over Haley.
Once votes were counted, Trump received 59.8% support against Haley’s 39.5%. In fact, his win was so decisive that the race was called just minutes after polls closed on Saturday. “I have never seen the Republican party so unified, as it is right now,” he said during his victory speech.
According to exit polls, the former president won among virtually every age group as well as among both men and women. Voters across all income ranges also backed him, and he only narrowly lost college graduates while leading among those without a college degree. Then again, Trump’s dominance in the state is not surprising, given that more than 4 in 10 described themselves as being affiliated with the MAGA movement, according to a CNN exit poll of primary voters.
Haley fared better with first-time voters and she won big among self-described moderates. She said it’s clear from her capturing approximately 40 percent of the vote in South Carolina that many Republicans want an alternative to Trump.
“I’m an accountant: I know 40 percent is not 50 percent, but I also know 40 percent is not some tiny group,” Haley said, referring to her background running her family’s business. “There are huge numbers in our Republican primaries who are saying they want an alternative.”
Despite her devastating loss, it’s clear her supporters want her to continue to run for president. A higher-than-usual number of voters, including Democrats, are crossing partisan lines to vote in this year’s Republican primaries.
Haley isn’t quitting the primary race — for now
For the time being, Haley said she aims to continue to campaign for president at least through Super Tuesday on March 5, when nearly half of the delegates to the Republican convention will be awarded. In total, Trump has netted 110 delegates compared to Haley’s 20. Both need at least 1,215 out of 2,429 delegates to win the GOP presidential nomination.
Even as Haley’s delegate path remains on shaky ground, she has the funds to continue to campaign — but she has a lot to prove. The former U.N. ambassador has yet to win a single primary election, and it’s rare for anyone to be their party’s nominee after losing an election in their home state. For example, when Florida Sen. Marco Rubio lost his home state primary to Trump in 2016, he quickly bowed out of the race.
Naturally, her latest loss is raising questions about why she’s staying in the race. Is she running as backup in case Trump fails to finish out his campaign or is she hoping to win the VP slot? Politico even speculates could it be part of her plan to run for president again in the future. But some believe this decision could hurt those prospects. “She wants to go out the way she wants, which I guess is in flames,” Republican strategist Matthew Bartlett told NBC.
If one thing’s clear, it’s that Haley will have to find a way to shake things up dramatically to change the tide — and she’s not giving up easily. “I said earlier this week that no matter what happens in South Carolina, I would continue to run for president. I’m a woman of my word,” she said.
