Haley Says She Needs to Do Better In South Carolina Than She Did In New Hampshire

Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley admitted that she needs to achieve a better showing in South Carolina than she did in New Hampshire to keep her campaign going.

Ms. Haley is the only prominent challenger to former President Donald Trump still in the race, despite having lost both previous contests by double-digit margins.

In Iowa, Ms. Haley came in third with less than 20 percent support. President Trump won 51 percent of the vote in the same contest.

Ms. Haley nevertheless declared the race a two-person one following that third-place finish, despite Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis having still been in the race at the time.

In New Hampshire, with most other contenders out of play, Ms. Haley did significantly better, achieving 43.2 percent of the vote—though roughly 70 percent of that tally came from non-Republicans. President Trump again defeated Ms. Haley by double-digit margins.

In spite of her lackluster early showings, Ms. Haley has remained in the race, emphasizing that she’s designing her campaign around building momentum as contests continue.

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Besides, Ms. Haley insists that the race is closer than pundits are letting on.

“It’s 1215 delegates to reach the nomination,” Ms. Haley told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Jan. 28. “Donald Trump has 32. I have 17.”

Ms. Haley also said she needs to do better in South Carolina than she did in New Hampshire to remain viable—but demurred from saying that she needs to win the state.

When asked by anchor Kristen Welker, Ms. Haley was evasive.

Instead of directly answering the question, she went into a diatribe against President Trump’s South Carolina backers, including South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and many lawmakers in the state.

Their endorsement of President Trump over her, Ms. Haley suggested, was due to lingering animosity over the actions she took to win the gubernatorial race in South Carolina and what she did afterward.

“Yes, he got the endorsement of the governor, but that’s the same governor that I defeated when I ran for governor,” she said. “Yes, he got the endorsement of the political class in South Carolina but that’s the same group that I forced to have to show their votes on the record. It’s the same group that I forced to pass ethics reform where they had to disclose their income.”

“There’s no surprise there that the political elite are surrounding him there he has become—Trump has become an insider,” she added. “That’s what it comes down to, is he’s more interested in satisfying the elected class than he is in satisfying the people.”

Later, Ms. Welker pushed the point.

“Let me just make sure we get an answer, though, Ambassador Haley … Do you need to win your home state in order to stay in this race? Is it do or die?”

Ms. Haley replied noncommittally: “I think I need to do better than I did New Hampshire. So this is a building situation.”

This, Ms. Haley said, would show that she’s “building momentum.”

“I need to show that I’m stronger in South Carolina than in New Hampshire,” she said. “Does that have to be a win? I don’t think that necessarily has to be a win. But it certainly has to be better than what I did New Hampshire and it certainly has to be close.”

Haley Will Stay Until Super Tuesday

But Ms. Haley indicated that no matter what happens in South Carolina, she’ll be in the race until Super Tuesday.

That March 5 contest will involve a series of primaries and caucuses across 16 states and territories and is one of the most important days of the political year.

“Are you in this race through the convention beyond Super Tuesday? Yes or No?” Ms. Welker asked.

“As long as I keep growing per state, I am in this race,” Ms. Haley said. “I have every intention of going to Super Tuesday … We’re going to keep on going and see where this gets us.”

Despite Ms. Haley’s optimism, she has a tough road ahead.

In Nevada, he’s running effectively unopposed due to a spat between the state and the Republican National Committee.

Despite Ms. Haley’s perpetual expressions of optimism, President Trump is seen as the clear frontrunner, with many declaring the primaries already effectively over.