Over the weekend, Nikki Haley lost to Donald Trump in the South Carolina Republican primary. Trump haters claim that it’s actually a victory because it wasn’t a complete wipe-out. However, to the extent she didn’t lose to “none of the above,” that’s mostly because Haley benefitted from South Carolina’s open primary system. Her campaign is over, and her donors know it.
Going into the South Carolina primary, the polls showed that Nikki Haley had some support among the state’s Republicans. This was inevitable because she was a relatively successful two-term governor. Nevertheless, the state’s Republicans were mostly behind Trump. The following is a compilation of the polls that Real Clear Politics collated in advance of the Republican primary, showing Trump’s dominance in Nikki’s home state:
Screen grab (cropped) from Real Clear Politics’ running polls compilation.
To offset a defeat in her home state, Haley spent lots of money campaigning for non-Republican votes in the state’s open primary. I wrote here about one of the flyers Haley sent out to encourage non-Republicans to vote against Trump.
That wasn’t the only such flyer I received. In fact, at last count, I had four on my kitchen counter. It was very easy to believe that Haley spent $16.5 million campaigning in South Carolina, compared to Trump’s $1.3 million.
South Carolina voters, like Republicans across America, recognize that Trump must be the candidate. Rejecting him means that the Democrats’ lawfare worked, and every conservative knows that this cannot be allowed to happen. They probably recognize, too, behind Haley’s shrill and strident militarism, she’s just another soft leftist, right down to the icky feminism and the embrace of so-called transgenderism.
When the big day finally arrived, Nikki Haley did exactly what the polls predicted: She lost. However, because the spread was smaller than the polls had indicated it would be (roughly 20 points rather than the 22-28 points that polls predicted), anti-Trumpers hailed her loss as a victory. Here are just two examples.
Haley herself, in true Black Knight mode, declared that she will continue in the race, even though she is predicted to lose by 30-50 points in upcoming primaries. She’s also starting to hemorrhage the financial support that she needs to keep going:
While Nikki Haley insists on slow-walking the eventual suspension of her presidential campaign, one of her most important backers has confirmed that they have reached the end of the line.
It wasn't always this way:
Americans for Prosperity Endorses Nikki Haley for President, Plans Major Ad Buys
Americans for Prosperity (AFP), which is bankrolled by the multi-billion dollar Koch network, announced that it was pulling the plug on financial support for Haley on the grounds that it is no longer money being well spent.
This follows on the heels of Reid Hoffman, the Democrat who founded Linked In, cutting off Nikki Haley a month ago. No matter how much you hate Trump, it’s apparent that Nikki isn’t the one who’s going to bring him down.
The question remains, then, why Nikki refuses to get out of the race. Some guesses are that she hopes that, if lawfare destroys Trump, she’ll have the nomination handed to her because she’s the last person standing; that she envisions a profitable gig on CNN or MSNBC; that she imagines a book deal; or that she’s delusional.
Or maybe she really is a Democrat and is doing this to drain Trump’s coffers. By staying in the race, she’s forcing him to campaign in future primaries, even as the lawfare waged against him costs him millions. (I happen to believe that, because these are quite obvious political hits, the RNC should be helping Trump with his legal fees. It’s time it realizes that this isn’t about Trump. Lawfare against Republicans is a political tactic and needs to be treated as such.)
Gavin Newsom, the smarmy, hard-left, but not stupid California governor, certainly views Haley as a Democrat asset:
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said Friday that GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley is among his party’s best surrogates on the campaign trail, as she seeks to take down former President Trump in the Republican primary.
“I think she’s one of our better surrogates, so I hope she stays in. I hope she does well tomorrow — at least, well enough,” Newsom said, referring to the GOP South Carolina primary, after CNN’s Jake Tapper asked whether Haley or Trump had a better chance against President Biden in November.
Newsom, a staunch supporter of Biden, added that he agreed with most of the attacks Haley has made on the former president.
“I think she’s spot on, on 99 percent of it,” he said. “So, I’m enjoying this primary. And I hope it continues, so I wish her luck.”
For now, Republicans are stuck with Haley. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the reality we’re in.
Image: YouTube screen grab (edited).