South Carolina who stand by Haley, there is a sense of hope

Paresh Jadhav

11 months ago

Haley hopes to increase turnout among independent or moderate Republican voters who helped her defeat Donald Trump in New Hampshire, and mount a stronger challenge in Michigan’s closed primary and the Super Tuesday states with open primaries.

However, many Republicans are encouraging her to abandon her candidacy and allow Donald Trump – who leads in polling numbers – the chance to run unimpeded for president.

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Polls Say Haley’s Losing

Still fighting gives her supporters hope, yet complicates their odds. Officials state she is privately polling donors and longtime supporters about how best to proceed, potentially keeping her in the race until after the Republican convention, when most delegates will be awarded.

But she must do better than her 11-point deficit in New Hampshire and South Carolina’s far more conservative GOP primary electorate, where many more Trump voters report being “extremely” motivated than Haley supporters to participate.

Some observers place her campaign’s difficulties attributable to several mistakes, including her remarks last month urging Democrats to support abortion rights and her failure to mention slavery when asked what caused the Civil War. But others contend that her issues run deeper; their point being that while her supporters may be disappointed by President Donald Trump, she has failed to distinguish herself from rival candidates or alter narrative.

She’s Reaching Independent Voters

Haley is also appealing to independent voters, which can cast ballots in either party’s primary. She points to polls that show her surpassing Biden in general election contests and believes she will help Republicans throughout the ticket.

However, it remains to be seen how many voters are actually backing her campaign. One attendee at Victor Morgan’s rally in Maudlin said he will vote for her if she takes more direct aim at Trump.

American for Prosperity Action, the political network founded by conservative billionaire Charles Koch that endorsed Haley last November, reported they have reached over 210,000 voters since then in South Carolina and found they tend to lean conservative. He noted, however, that some undecideds remain.

She’s Trying to Turn the Tables

After experiencing poor showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, Haley’s advisers believe her best option would be to fight on in South Carolina. Doing so could position her as a come-from-behind winner within the Republican race as well as future presidential bids.

Betsy Ankeny, Haley’s campaign manager, noted in a memo released Tuesday that 11 out of the next 16 states with primaries feature open or semi-open contests that could help her. These states include Virginia, Texas, Maine, Massachusetts and Minnesota where Haley can add delegate totals ahead of Super Tuesday.

So despite an increasingly subpar reception from her home-state voters, Haley remains determined in her pursuit of winning the Republican nomination. She encourages donors to keep giving, even if they believe Trump can’t beat her, and continues to stress how high stakes a presidential election are relative to past state races she ran in.

She’s Trying to Stay in the Race

Now with less than one month before South Carolina’s primary, Haley and her campaign team are taking steps to assess donor support and gauge longtime supporters on her path forward. Furthermore, they hope to get ahead of Donald Trump by positioning Haley on the right and showing voters she is capable of standing up to him as President Trump is being widely touted in conservative states like this one.

Former two-term governor Janet Napolitano faces an uphill struggle as she attempts to expand her coalition and win support from more conservative elements within her own party than was evident when she left office in 2017. Even with an open primary system in place, her competition remains formidable as they battle a group that was much less conservative when she held office from 2011-17.

Haley is also targeting Republican voters concerned about Joe Biden-Hillary Clinton contest in November, as Sarah McCammon reports from South Carolina where early voting begins Saturday.