Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s hopes of winning the party’s nomination are negligible at best, but the former South Carolina governor has not left the race.
In his victory speech after winning the Republican primary in South Carolina Feb. 24, former President Donald Trump did not even bother to mention Haley, according to CNN, showing how irrelevant her presence in the race is.
And as even CNN is discussing “what could be a crushing performance” by Trump in Super Tuesday primary voting, Haley’s bid for the GOP nomination looks like more of a long shot than ever.
But Haley does have a way to remain a factor, and although she has publicly said she will not take that path, speculation is intensifying that she may launch an independent or third-party bid for the White House, according to The Hill.
Haley faces growing third-party speculation https://t.co/nAj4tMXcLs
— Bo Snerdley (@BoSnerdley) March 4, 2024
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In January, the bipartisan group No Labels said that it would seriously consider Haley as a potential running mate for its proposed “unity presidential ticket” should she fail to secure the Republican nomination.
“If Gov. Haley does not succeed in obtaining the Republican nomination for president and she declares any interest in being part of our bipartisan unity ticket, I’m sure the people at No Labels would give that the most serious consideration,” No Labels co-chairman and former Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman told Politico.
On Friday, Haley said she was not interested in a No Labels bid because the party’s unity ticket would mean she would be running with a Democratic partner.
“If I were to do No Labels, that would require a Democrat. I can’t do what I wanted to express with the Democrats,” Haley told reporters, according to the Hill.
Will Nikki Haley attempt an independent run?
“I’ve always believed if you do something, do it right or don’t do it,” she said. “And so I don’t think I can do it right. If I ran for No Labels, that would mean it’s about me. It’s not about me. It’s about the direction I think the country should go,” she added.
On Fox News on Feb. 26, according to The Hill, Haley reiterated, “I’m a Republican. I have not talked to any other organization. I have not put a second of thought into an independent run because I’m a Republican. That’s what I’ve always been.”
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The National Director for No Labels, an organization that will be running a third-party candidate in the 2024 presidential election, said that Nikki Haley is “… pic.twitter.com/jri1XEAUql— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) February 26, 2024
However, Haley has received donations from big Democrat donors during the race, including billionaire LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, a major Democratic donor, who gave $250,000 to a Super PAC supporting Haley’s bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Hoffman’s political adviser confirmed the donation to the pro-Haley SFA Fund Inc., stating the group agreed to accept the money despite Hoffman actively backing President Biden, a Democrat, according to The New York Times.
Haley has also openly called for support from Democrats. During an appearance on Fox News in December, Haley said, “Anybody that wants to come support the cause, whether they’re Republican, independent or Democrat, we’re going to take them.
“And that’s the way the Republican Party should look at it is, this is a story about addition, not about getting people and pushing people away,” she said, The New York Times reported.
Some may also remember that Haley had said she would not run against Trump in 2024, as The Associated Press reported in 2021, a promise she seems to have long forgotten as she attacks him on the campaign trail.
So, while Haley continues to insist that she will not partner with a Democrat, the old saying “Politics makes strange bedfellows” comes to mind.
And while a Haley third-party bid would almost certainly fail to win the presidency, it could also have the effect of torpedoing Trump’s chances, if she were to draw away enough votes that would ultimately go to the Republican ticket in November.
As someone who does not have a stellar track record when it comes to loyalty, we’ll just have to wait and see if Nikki Haley ultimately decides to put political ambition above the Republican Party.
