Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is facing calls to suspend her campaign, given former President Donald Trump’s commanding lead in the GOP’s presidential primary.
Haley has long named March 5, Super Tuesday, as the earliest possible opportunity to suspend her campaign. “After Super Tuesday, we will have a very good picture of where this race stands,” Betsy Ankney, Haley’s campaign manager, told The New York Times in January after the Iowa caucus.
Now, Haley is making her timeline more clear. According to a Sunday interview with NBC News, Haley sees Super Tuesday as an opportunity to influence the future of the GOP, rather than a chance to win primaries… and she hasn’t ruled out the possibility of dragging her campaign all the way to August’s convention.
Kristen Welker of Meet the Press asked Haley about the timeline for her campaign. Welker asked, “Would it be tough for you to make the argument to stay in this race if you don’t win anywhere on Super Tuesday?”
Haley described her goal as a “competitive” showing, rather than a victory.
“I’ve always said this needs to be competitive. As long as we are competitive, as long as we are showing that there is a place for us, I’m going to continue to fight. That’s always been the case,” Haley said.
Welker repeated the question. “Would you see yourself as competitive if you didn’t win on Super Tuesday, any state?” Welker asked.
Haley punted.
“I look at, ‘What do the American people want?’ If 70% of Americans say they don’t want Donald Trump or Joe Biden, that’s not a small number. If 30 to 40% of all these early states have said they want to vote for the direction of where we want to take the country, that’s not a small number,” Haley said. “That’s why we continue to push forward.”
Then, Welker asked a pointed question. She asked Haley about the possibility of dragging a campaign all the way to the convention.
Welker asked, “Based on what you’re saying, Ambassador, are you prepared to stay in this through the convention?”
Haley accepted a bitter convention as a possibility. She described her campaign as an attempt to influence the future direction of the GOP.
Accordingly, Haley has “absolutely” ruled out the possibility of running as a third-party candidate.
“If the people want to see me go forward, they’ll show it. They’ll show it in their votes. They’ll show it in their donations. They’ll show it in the fact that they want us to continue to go forward,” Haley said.
“This is about really trying to get everyone to realize that this primary isn’t between Donald Trump and Nikki Haley. Yes, on the ballot, that’s what you see. This primary is, ‘What is the direction of the Republican Party?'”
Since Sunday’s interview, Haley has won her first primary, in the District of Columbia.
Still, Trump won weekend contests in Idaho and Missouri. Plus, he’s earned 273 delegates to Haley’s 43. Trump looks likely to win hundreds more delegates Tuesday, amid primaries in 15 states and one territory.
Haley concluded her interview by saying, “First, let’s see what happens on Super Tuesday.”
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The Horn editorial team