Nikki Haley Might Not Have A Clear Path To Victory, But That’s Not Stopping Her

Just days before the primary election in her home state, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley remains resolute in her decision to continue vying for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination despite consistently polling far behind front-runner Donald Trump.

Defining her motivation

So why is she subjecting herself to the grueling campaign trail and taking jabs from members of both parties if she doesn’t seem to have a legitimate chance of becoming the nominee? Well, Haley (who served as U.N. ambassador under then-President Trump) recently delivered a speech explaining why she continues to take on her former boss in hopes of facing off against President Joe Biden in the general election.

After denying that she has any desire to be vice president, she credited her perseverance to the simple, if possibly unsatisfying, fact that she is “fighting for what [she knows] is right.”

She has repeatedly suggested that both Biden and Trump are too old and the nation should be led by a younger president. Her opposition to the former president has grown more acute in recent months, too, with pointed attacks on his multiple legal problems among other things.

Some other factors

Even if Haley isn’t positioning herself to be Trump’s running-mate, pundits have come up with a number of other reasons why she might still be in the race after so many others have dropped out.

Some think she’s biding her time in case Trump is convicted and sentenced to prison, others believe she wants to raise her national profile so she can run again in four (or more) years.

Then there’s the more pragmatic justification voiced by GOP strategist Kevin Madden: She’s raking in a lot of cash from anti-Trump donors.
“Candidates don’t run out of reasons to run,” he concluded. “They run out of resources.”

Chris Agee February 22nd, 2024

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