On Saturday night, former president and current presidential hopeful Donald Trump won the U.S. state of South Carolina, further adding to his tally of victories in the Republican primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands
In doing so, he delivered another blow to Nikki Haley, his sole Republican challenger candidate, despite South Carolina being Haley’s home state.
Trump, 77, was able to get 60% of the vote behind him, while Haley, 52, trailed behind, unable to move beyond a disappointing 40%. As such, Trump further solidified his position, remaining the leading contender to become the Republicans’ presidential candidate.
Haley’s defeat on home turf marks her fourth major state loss in a row.
In recent weeks, Haley, the former UN ambassador under Trump, had bet heavily on turning the tide and finally securing her first win in her home state, of which she was governor from 2011—2017. Haley left the leadership of her state to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under the Trump presidency, a position she left in 2018.
“I have never seen the Republican Party so unified as it is right now,” Trump said in his victory speech, in what could be taken as a dig at Haley’s seemingly growing irrelevance to the GOP.
Looking ahead to the November 5th presidential election, Trump added, “We’re gonna look at [current Democrat president] Joe Biden, and we’re gonna look him right in the eye—he’s destroying our country—and we’re gonna say, ‘Joe, you’re fired! Get out. Get out, Joe! You’re fired!’,” in a reference to his slogan, made famous through the “The Apprentice” TV show.
In her own speech before a Charleston audience, an undeterred Haley attempted to put a positive spin on the outcome, saying “I know 40% is not 50%, but I also know 40% is not some tiny group.” The true political affiliation of voters in the South Carolina primary is however unknown. As the state has open primary elections, Democratic voters opposed to Trump could vote against him—for Haley—in the primary election.
“There are a lot of voters in our Republican primaries who say they want an alternative,” Haley added, as she vowed not to “give up this fight if a majority of Americans do not want both [current president] Joe Biden and Donald Trump.”
She continued to say that, as she had stated earlier that week, “no matter what happens in South Carolina, I would continue to run for president,” adding she was “a woman of my word.”
Haley insisted she would fight on at least through “Super Tuesday” on March 5th, when Republicans in 15 states and one U.S. territory will cast ballots.
With prospects of Haley winning any future races becoming dim, commentators argue that she is doing so as long as she is still being bankrolled by anti-Trump donors, thereby forcing Trump to continue pouring money into his own campaigns.
Though Trump spends relatively little money compared to her, Haley might harbor the hope that Trump’s legal troubles, which are also draining his coffers, might eventually force him to drop out.
Yet, in the wake of her latest defeat, securing funding is becoming increasingly difficult for Haley.
In an email obtained by CNN, the influential network ‘Americans for Prosperity Action’, associated with billionaire Charles Koch, said it would no longer back Haley in the Republican presidential primary and will instead focus on key Senate and House races, citing the need for “optimizing our resources for maximum impact towards our goals.”
Should Haley drop out of the race for the Republicans, a new political home might however be waiting for her.
“No Labels” national director Joe Cunningham told Fox & Friends on Sunday that he’s “definitely” interested in having Nikki Haley as their non-party affiliated, independent candidate, should that happen.
Cunningham said they won’t be deciding on that “No Labels” candidate until after Super Tuesday.
“We’ve said from the onset that after super Tuesday we’re going to look at who the presumptive nominees are, and if the vast majority of Americans are unhappy with those and we feel like we can put forward a ticket or offer a ballot line to candidates who can win, then we’re going to offer that ballot line,” he said.
On Tuesday, Haley and Trump are going head to head in Michigan, followed by primaries in Idaho, Missouri, and North Dakota.
