Nikki Haley, 52, a former United Nations ambassador and former governor of South Carolina, is running to become the Republican presidential nominee over former President Donald Trump, 77.
Haley’s presidential bid began approximately a year ago, and she is the final Republican standing in a race to win the nomination against Trump. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was among Haley’s other opponents — until his devastating loss to Trump by 30 percentage points at the Iowa caucuses last month. Haley, who is similarly far-right like her opponents, has supported efforts like abortion bans, anti-trans legislation and a crackdown on immigration laws. Haley’s future versus Trump is unknown — but what can her campaign tell us about her?
Haley, who lost in both the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, needed a win. Thus, earlier this month, Haley ran unopposed in what was dubbed by The New York Times as an “irrelevant primary” in Nevada. The primary didn’t include leading Republican candidate Trump and left Haley trailing the “none of these candidates” option on the ballot. However, as the top vote-getter after “none of these candidates,” Haley was determined the winner due to a state election law that states “only votes cast for the named candidates shall be counted.”
To win the nomination over Trump, Haley still needs to gain the support of 1,198 GOP delegates. Haley’s current total is 17 delegates — Trump is leading with 63 delegates, according to NBC News. Haley is now looking to her home state, South Carolina, where the next primary will take place, to catch up. The state holds a total of 50 delegates, and the winner takes all, making this state a make-or-break contest for her presidential bid.
While Haley might not seem like a big-name candidate to some, she has applied for Secret Service protection as threats against her have increased, her campaign confirmed earlier this month. Haley’s campaign hasn’t responded to a request for more information from The Wall Street Journal about said threats, but the outlet reported there have been protesters at recent campaign events upset about her support for Ukraine and Israel, and that one woman in South Carolina tried to rush a campaign event stage.
With rough losses to Trump under her belt, how far will Haley’s campaign go? Well, her campaign has said Haley has the momentum to survive until Super Tuesday on March 5, the biggest day of the primary season.
But a CNN poll in early February points to Haley’s base of weakness: She has the support of only 29% of college-educated Republicans, while Trump has the support of 55% in that demographic.
While Trump and Haley have their differences, the two Republican candidates have a common enemy when it comes to securing the nomination: Voters of Tomorrow. The nationwide 501(c)(4) organization discourages young voters, specifically Generation Z, from voting for either. With more Gen Z voters emerging as the group starts to reach the voting age of 18, more liberal advocacy groups are dissuading voters from voting for any Republicans.
“There’s so many freedoms that Trump and Haley want to take away from young voters, and we’re not going to let them: the freedom to read books that accurately portray American history, the freedom to go to school and not get shot, the freedom to drink clean water and to live on a planet without irreversible climate damage,” Voters of Tomorrow spokesperson Jack Lobel, 19, told NBC News in January. “These are serious choices that we have to make.”
Emily J. Aguirre is a sophomore at Santa Fe Prep. You can contact her at emjazz19@gmail.com.
The Santa Fe New Mexican observes its 175th anniversary with a series highlighting some of the major stories and figures that have appeared in the paper's pages through its history. The collection also includes archival photo galleries.
