The first competitions already showed that Nikki Haley has no chance of being nominated for president of the Republican Party. She should withdraw from the race, support Trump, and assist call a general election to remove Joe Biden.
The former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations was in Greenville, South Carolina, on Tuesday in what she described as a “main address” – tried to explain why she continues to campaign for the GOP presidential nomination, despite the long odds facing her.
She was convincing.
Haley has no chance of winning the Republican Party’s presidential nomination. She didn’t win in Iowa, New Hampshire or Nevada. She won’t win in South Carolina on Saturday, even though she was its governor – or rather surveys in her home state, she consistently showed herself losing by more than 25 points. It will be destroyed in South Carolina, as elsewhere, and as it will happen on Super Tuesday, March 5.
No Republican presidential candidate has ever mounted a winning nominating campaign, losing both Iowa and New Hampshire. Haley lost both.
On the other hand, no non-incumbent GOP presidential candidate has ever managed to win both Iowa and New Hampshire. Until this year, when former President Donald Trump not only won both; he won both with overwhelming majorities in each state, despite running against multi-candidate fields. Trump’s impressive victories in Iowa and New Hampshire were actually demonstrations of sheer political power.
But while winning one of the first two contests is crucial to getting off to a mighty start, the South Carolina primary was key to winning the GOP nomination: Since its inception in 1980, the winner of the South Carolina GOP primary has won the GOP nomination in every contest with except for one – in 2012, when Newt Gingrich won South Carolina but ultimately lost the nomination to Mitt Romney.
State Republican Party chairmen recognize Trump’s political power and see the writing on the wall. They started supporting Trump even before their own states went to the polls to register their preferences. Why? Because they know what the results will be in their states and they don’t have to wait.
As such, the state GOP is in the lead Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Oregon, TexasAND West Virginia everyone recently supported Trump.
No Haley, Trump.
Haley declared in her Tuesday remarks that “if the race ended today, we would have the longest general election in history.” To which my response is, “So what?” The stakes in the general election couldn’t be higher – the nation simply cannot afford another four years of Joe Biden. The opposition to Biden must have as much time as possible to organize to ensure his defeat. Haley’s statement that her withdrawal will lead to the longest election campaign in history is not an error; it’s a feature.
Haley continued her argument: “But there is another reason why Trump is wrong. Ultimately, the only candidate who helps Joe Biden is Donald Trump because Trump is the only Republican Biden can beat.”
Did Haley check Real clear policy a polling site that shows the results of almost every major poll published in the United States? In the last 50 national polls released since November, Biden leads Trump by exactly nine. On the other hand, in 33 of the last 50 polls – including 12 of the last 15 – Trump leads Biden.
Trump vs. Poll Biden is even more revealing when we look at the battlefield competition: W Arizona, Trump’s advantage over Biden in the Real Clear Politics ranking is on average 4.7%; IN Georgia, that’s 6.8 percent; IN Michigan, that’s 4.6 percent; IN Nevadais 8.4 percent; in North Carolina it is 6.0 percent; and Wisconsin, is 0.6 percent. Of the battleground states, only Pennsylvania – a state where Joe Biden has visited so many times in his career that he was regularly called “Pennsylvania’s third senator” – does Biden have an advantage in the Real Clear Politics average: P
It is clear that Trump is not only competing with Biden; leads Biden nationally and in battleground states. What the hell is Haley thinking when she says what she’s doing about Trump’s chances against Biden?
Trump is the leader of the Republican Party and everyone knows it. He has been the leader of the party since he took office in January 2017. He defeated more enemies in the primaries than any other GOP presidential candidate in history, and now he only has one final opponent. No one doubts the outcome of the nomination fight. Haley should step back and let the GOP complete its unification process ahead of the critical fall campaign. It’s time.
