With the Republican presidential primary calendar still featuring 48 states and U.S. territories, Nikki Haley, who currently trails Donald Trump by a margin of just 15 delegates, shared her optimism about her chances of securing the GOP nomination in an interview with Newsmax on Monday.
Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and U.N. ambassador during the Trump administration, expressed her determination to make significant gains in the race. She highlighted her progress from a mere 2% in Iowa, gradually eliminating competitors until it’s now a head-to-head contest between her and Trump. Notably, she achieved 20% support in Iowa and garnered 43% in New Hampshire. In South Carolina, she aims to outperform her previous results.
To secure the GOP nomination, a candidate needs 1,215 delegates, and at present, Trump has 32 while Haley has 17. However, it’s important to note that Haley won’t be able to gain delegates from Nevada, as she is not on the ballot for the state’s GOP caucus on Feb. 8. Instead, she is participating in the primary on Feb. 6, where no GOP delegates are up for grabs. In her home state of South Carolina, where the primary is scheduled for Feb. 24, she currently trails Trump by 33.3 percentage points according to the FiveThirtyEight polling average (62.5%-29.2%).
Haley emphasized that the race is far from over, despite the prevailing sentiment. She stressed the need to continue the campaign, with 48 states and territories still awaiting their turn to vote. Furthermore, she voiced her concerns about Trump’s electability in a general election, citing his struggles with independents and suburban women, as well as losing support from some Republicans who are looking for alternative candidates.
“This is not personal for me,” she clarified. “I have no problems with Donald Trump. I voted for him twice, and I was proud to serve in his administration. This is about ensuring that America doesn’t suffer another loss. We experienced defeats in 2018, 2020, and 2022. How many more times do we have to lose before we realize we need to correct our course?”
Haley also addressed the recent rejection by the Republican National Committee of an effort to declare Trump the presumptive GOP nominee, effectively signaling the end of the primary competition. She attributed this move to Trump and what she referred to as the “political elite” within the Republican ranks, who urged her to withdraw from the race in order to focus the party’s resources on the general election campaign against President Joe Biden.
“I’ve never aligned with the political elite,” she asserted. “I have no desire to join their ranks. The individuals making these suggestions are congressional members close to Trump, such as Lindsey Graham, who have made little progress in areas like cutting wasteful spending, addressing border issues, or preventing conflicts. They’ve essentially accomplished nothing.”
Haley concluded by urging a return to listening to the voices of the American people as she continued her campaign for the Republican nomination.
