Nikki Haley is preparing for what might be her last stand in her home state.
The former Palmetto State governor is gearing up for the GOP presidential primary in South Carolina on Feb. 24, facing off against former President Trump, who has so far dominated the race and already dispatched other formidable rivals Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
Trump, 77, has beaten Haley, 52, in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada by double-digit margins, but her campaign has soldiered on — much to the annoyance of Team Trump.
“We don’t think much about her. This is like asking what does Taylor Swift think of a crazy stalker getting arrested. Haley is polling down 30 points in her home state, and at this point it’s kind of sad,” sniffed one Trump insider.
“Her attacks have been featured many times now in the Biden Campaign’s Twitter. She sound like the Lincoln Project frankly. It doesn’t seem clear that she wants to help Republicans take back the White House. So it’s not clear what she’s doing. She is like an MSNBC pundit at this point.”
Polling in the race indicates a humiliating blowout could be on the horizon.
A Survey from Winthrop University this week found 65% of likely voters in the state would back Trump in the primary.
While Haley has attempted to downplay expectations for a win, she said last month that the campaign needed to improve on her New Hampshire performance — where she garnered 43% of the vote.
“If we win – great. If not, we need to narrow it along the way to give people in Super Tuesday states a reason to see and have us fight on,” she said.
More than 1/3 of all Republican delegates will be awarded in March 5 primaries in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and American Samoa.
Haley raised $24 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 during a late fundraising surge.
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Her campaign committee has more than $14.5 million cash on hand, according to the Federal Election Commission.
While Trump is already publicly being called the presumptive nominee by GOP insiders and allies like Montana Sen. Steve Daines, some expect Haley could linger long after South Carolina.
“Trump is going to win I would say by probably 25 to 30 points. She’s probably wins the black majority counties and she might win the city of Charleston,” said Ryan Girdusky, a longtime GOP consultant — who added that it didn’t necessarily mean she would formally suspend her campaign.
Haley could remain in the race as a break-glass solution should Trump be forced from the ballot because of legal troubles or an act of God, Girdusky said.
“She has nothing to lose by continuing and keeping her name on the ballot. She’s got some money in reserves,” Girdusky said. “If something happens to Trump, she can become the only viable name on the ballot in a lot of these states.”
“And if he wins, then she can go work for private equity.”