Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley suffered another big loss in her home state’s primary on Saturday.
After losing to “none of the above” in the Nevada primary, Haley finished a distant second behind front-runner former President Donald Trump in the South Carolina GOP contest, capturing just 39.5 percent of the vote compared to Trump’s 59.8 percent, according to The New York Times.
Her path forward was already narrow heading into South Carolina, but the home state defeat added another nail in the coffin of her presidential ambitions, damaging her ability to raise money and gain momentum. No major party contender since 1972 has gone on to win their party’s nomination after losing their home state, USA Today reported.
Despite this decisive loss that severely damaged her already narrow path to the Republican nomination, Haley pledged to press on to Super Tuesday, arguing she has a duty to provide voters “a real choice” in the slew of primary elections set for March 5.
“I’m not giving up this fight when a majority of Americans disapprove of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” the former governor said, according to USA Today.
“South Carolina has spoken. We’re the fourth state to do so. In the next 10 days, another 21 states and territories will speak. They have the right to a real choice, not a Soviet-style election with only one candidate. And I have a duty to give them that choice.”
While her speech gave the impression that Haley was poised to continue beating this dead horse indefinitely, Haley gave reporters some indication that she may have an end date in sight, according to Politico.
After casting her vote inside a gated community on South Carolina’s Kiawah Island, Haley told reporters that she wasn’t looking past Super Tuesday.
Nikki Haley bets it all on Super Tuesday after dismal primary night down south https://t.co/lWGFsw2m0V
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 25, 2024
“We’re going to keep going all the way through Super Tuesday,” Haley said, according to Politico. “That’s as far as I’ve thought in terms of going forward.”
Americans for Prosperity, a group aligned with conservative billionaire Charles Koch, which backed her in South Carolina, declined to say whether it would continue to support her.
For now, Haley plans to campaign aggressively across at least seven states and Washington D.C., according to Politico.
The Haley campaign is making a major advertising push before Super Tuesday. Her campaign manager announced it is launching a million-dollar national ad campaign across cable TV and digital platforms.
Nikki Haley commits 7-figure ad-buy to underscore fight for Super Tuesday: ‘Get our country back on track’ https://t.co/4jV7oJYtDV
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 24, 2024
According to data from the ad tracking firm AdImpact, Haley’s campaign is currently spending over $400,000 for ads in Michigan markets before the state’s primary on Tuesday.
Polling has evidently not been heavy for the Wolverine State, but Trump leads in Michigan by 66 points, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling average, which uses data from polls from Nov. 29 through Feb. 4.
Haley’s team seems to be aware of the writing on the wall. During a brief with reporters on Friday, Haley’s campaign manager acknowledged four times that the campaign “knew the odds” for Haley.
Does Nikki Haley have a path to victory?
According to early February data from the polling group Morning Consult, things don’t get better for Haley from here. Trump held a commanding lead in every Super Tuesday state. There’s little reason to think much has changed.
With Super Tuesday just days away, time is running out for Haley to reshape the trajectory of the Republican primary race.
Haley would need to pull off a momentous upset in a very short period of time to regain momentum.
While nothing is impossible in politics, her chances, as they stand right now, seem extraordinarily slim.
