Donald Trump defeated Nikki Haley in her home state of South Carolina, a painful setback that narrowed her path to the nomination.
Palmetto State voters have a long history of choosing the party’s eventual nominee, and Trump is expected to clinch the Republican nomination months before the Republican Party’s summer convention in Milwaukee.
Trump swept the early voting states, picking up wins and delegates in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. Defeating Haley, who had served as ambassador to the United Nations, in her home state dealt another heavy blow to her candidacy, putting her further out of reach of the nomination. But her campaign vowed to move forward regardless of the outcome.
Haley’s campaign announced Friday it would launch a “seven-figure” national cable and digital buying campaign ahead of Super Tuesday, March 5. On Sunday, she will host a rally in Michigan, which holds its primary election on February 27, and then cross-country in several Super Tuesday states.
She refused to drop out of the race, frustrating Trump and his allies. They said Haley, who likened herself to David overcoming Goliath, had no path to victory, and accused her of relying on wealthy donors to sustain her long-shot goals only prolonging the inevitable.
But Haley’s supporters say they’re grateful for her candidacy as a reminder of what the future of the Republican Party might look like. Some believe Haley, 52, is laying the groundwork for a future presidential bid or positioning herself as the obvious second choice in the extraordinary event that Trump can no longer serve as the party’s nominee.
Trump faces 91 felony charges, as well as mounting legal fees and huge financial penalties, and he has dipped into campaign funds to help pay for them. At her event, Haley told voters it was “not normal” for a candidate to spend more time in court than on the campaign trail or asking donors to pay his legal fees.
But Trump’s legal woes, stemming in part from his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, have only bolstered his support.
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In recent days, Trump’s campaign has begun turning its attention to a general election contest with Joe Biden, who easily clinched the party’s nomination without facing a serious primary challenge. Trump’s team has moved aggressively to gain control of the Republican National Committee, which is expected to remain neutral in the primary.
Trump started his day in Washington with a dark speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) before returning to South Carolina to attend an election vigil party in the state capital of Columbia.
Earlier in the day, Haley voted in her hometown of Kiawah Island. Later, her cross-state “Beasts of the Southeast” bus tour came to Charleston, where she was scheduled to speak at an election vigil party.
