Since there are only two countries competing for the nomination, the former UN ambassador should remain in office. Even if one candidate is the overwhelming favorite, the rest of us want to have a say. What’s the point of a presidential primary if all but one candidate drops out soon after it begins?
Republicans who are anti-Trump or Trump-skeptical are a minority within the Republican Party, but so far they have been significantly more popular, including 49 percent of Iowa Republican caucus attendees and 45 percent of New Hampshire Republican caucus attendees. There is evidence that they are in the minority. Major. Granted, if all is said and done with this primary, Trump will almost certainly end up winning even more delegates, but a candidate needs 1,215 to win the nomination. Currently, Trump has 32 delegates, Haley has 17 delegates, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has nine delegates, and Vivek Ramaswamy has three delegates. .
On Tuesday night, Trump won just two more delegates than Haley. it is Will it be a defeat that will convince Haley to throw in the towel?
Haley acknowledged her loss in New Hampshire, but while rambling about Jan. 6, 2021, she questioned how President Trump confused her with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) defiantly reminded voters about what they had done. President Trump responded with an outpouring of ridicule and name-calling both online and offline. Trump has vowed to retaliate against Haley’s donors at a time when many of the leading candidates are seeking to unify the party. Even if he wins, he will be furious at being slighted or imagined and find new ways to fight off those who were already skeptical of him. If this momentum continues, Haley will likely continue to receive less than half of the vote, but still a respectable and sizable minority.
President Trump is convinced that he is perfect the way he is, that he is on his way to a landslide victory, and that if President Biden is re-elected, he will be just another proof of a stolen election. By staying in the race, Haley is saying, “No, none of this is good.” This is not what the Republican Party should represent. There are Republicans and independents in the world who want the Republican Party to stand for what is better.
This election year will see whether President Trump pulls off the most improbable upset in U.S. history, or the Republican Party ends up losing the popular vote again for the fourth time in five cycles and for the fifth time in a row. It’s going to be one or the other. (Trump’s highest percentage of the popular vote so far was 46.9 percent in 2020.)
Some might argue that Haley’s numbers in New Hampshire were driven primarily by independents who were repulsed by President Trump. so what? An independent’s vote is just as important as a registered Republican’s vote. Haley’s home state of South Carolina does not have party-based registration, so all registered voters can participate in the upcoming presidential primary. Anyone who shows up at a polling place, whether Republican, Democrat or independent, can request a Republican or Democratic ballot.
With no competition on the Democratic side, South Carolina independents and Democrats could vote for Haley in significant numbers. There are 15 states, such as South Carolina, that have open primary elections. There are seven other systems in which independent voters can vote in either party’s primaries. There are so many places where former Republicans, independents and Democrats can vote for Haley in the coming months.
Haley could win between 30% and 45% of the vote in most or all primaries. She was able to walk into the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee with a large number of delegates and enormous influence. Under normal circumstances, the second-place finisher could force her front-runner to choose her as her running mate in order to unify her party. But the event was also less glamorous than usual, as former Vice President Trump clashed with an angry crowd who vowed to hang Trump for not declaring him the winner in 2020.
Haley could drop out now and become another DeSantis. Alternatively, by winning one-on-one head-to-head fights that evaded President Trump’s Republican rivals in 2016 and the rest of 2024, Haley could continue to fight until her final campaign on June 4. Please do not make nominations half-heartedly.