‘I’m a Woman of My Word’: Nikki Haley ‘Not Giving Up’ After Defeat to Trump In South Carolina

Indian-American Republican Presidential candidate Nikki Haley has said that she will continue to fight Donald Trump even after she was easily defeated by the former US President in South Carolina’s Republican contest on Saturday.

With this win, Trump extended his winning streak as he marches toward a third consecutive presidential nomination and a rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden in the upcoming race to the White House.

“I’m a woman of my word. I’m not giving up this fight when a majority of Americans disapprove of both Trump and Biden. In the next 10 days, 21 states and territories will speak. They have the right to a real choice, not a Soviet-style election with only one candidate. And I have a duty to give them that choice,” Haley said in a post on X.

The former US president had been widely favored to win the Southern state, with one opinion poll after another showing him holding a sizable lead despite his litany of criminal charges and Haley’s status as a native of South Carolina who won two terms as governor. “I have never seen the Republican party so unified as it is right now,” Trump told supporters in Columbia, the state capital, just minutes after the polls closed at 7 pm. He did not mention Haley once in about 30 minutes of remarks.

The lopsided outcome will bolster calls from Trump’s allies that Haley, Trump’s last remaining challenger, should drop out of the race. Trump has dominated all five contests thus far – in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, the U.S. Virgin Islands and now Haley’s home state – leaving her with virtually no path to the Republican nomination. Trump was leading 59.7% to 39.7% with about half of the expected vote tallied, according to Edison.

Haley, who served as UN ambassador under Trump, said once again on Saturday that she will campaign through at least “Super Tuesday” on March 5, when Republicans in 15 states and one U.S. territory will cast ballots. “We need to beat Joe Biden in November,” she told supporters in Charleston, South Carolina, after Saturday’s election was called in Trump’s favor. “I don’t believe Donald Trump can beat Joe Biden.”

She argued that her vote share, while less than 50%, showed large numbers of Republicans were still uneasy about Trump. Haley notably sharpened her attacks on Trump in recent days, questioning his mental acuity and warning voters that he would lose November’s general election. However, there is little evidence that Republican voters are interested in any standard-bearer except Trump.

(With agency inputs)