Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign has sputtered to a halt. In Nevada, she received fewer votes than “none of these candidates.”
Still, Haley has yet to end her campaign. In fact, her campaign is still collecting donor money.
Now, some allies are publicly worrying that Haley has damaged her reputation… and some are even predicting that Haley will be ousted from the party like former Rep. Liz Cheney.
One ally, Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, discussed Haley’s prospects for winning a Republican primary for Congress or for the presidency.
“I don’t think that’s likely, but it is possible,” Romney said.
On the other hand, Romney expected a brighter future for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. He even raised the possibility of Donald Trump appointing DeSantis to some role in a Trump administration.
After all, DeSantis suspended his campaign before the first primary, and he endorsed Trump immediately.
Romney has run for president twice, and he lost both times. During his first run, his campaign died early in the primary.
Still, Romney gave Haley some unsolicited advice about campaigning for president.
“You may alienate some people who like your opponent. That’s the nature of negative campaign ads and messaging,” Romney said.
“That’s how it works. And you make a calculation to do what you think is going to get you the nomination. That’s how it works. There’s so much that happens in politics, you know, that you can’t predict what the factors will be. Let’s say Donald Trump gets elected and he’s highly successful. Why then, that’d be really tough for Haley.”
Romney, like Haley, has become known for flip-flopping on Trump. He was floated by the media as a possible pick for Trump’s secretary of state, but he eventually voted to remove Trump in 2020, becoming the first senator to vote for removing a president of his own party.
Haley served in Trump’s Cabinet as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. In 2021, she promised not to run against Trump. Now, she’s not just running against him; she’s piloting a kamikaze campaign, full of negative ads with the potential to damage Trump in the general election.
Even some of Haley’s own constituents are questioning her judgment.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., put it in blunt terms.
“DeSantis has already endorsed Donald Trump, who is the leader of our party and the only man who can save our country. You know, he’s going to be the nominee. He’s gonna win resoundingly,” Mace told the outlet.
“He’s crushing it in South Carolina, right? Frankly, he’s crushing it everywhere. The sooner that we can unite our party, the sooner we can take on Joe Biden, and that is what’s best for the party… That’s what’s best for the country. And the sooner folks realize that, the better off we’re going to be.”
Naturally, the Democrats have been pouncing on Haley’s failures.
“Congrats to Nikki Haley on being the second choice of Nevadans to ‘no one’ and winning a grand total of zero delegates,” Democratic National Committee rapid response director Alex Floyd said in a Wednesday statement Wednesday.
It’s hard to find someone, other than a big donor, who approves of Haley’s bitterly protracted campaign.
Still, her allies and constituents have stopped short of declaring the death of her career.
Romney detailed a clear path forward for Haley. “If Trump is elected then falls on his face… Gov. Haley might say, ‘See, I told you so,’ and become the nominee next time,” Romney said.
Another constituent, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, concluded, “The primaries will be over soon and everybody will be together again.”
The Horn editorial team