Despite coming in third in the Iowa caucuses and a double-digit defeat by Donald Trump in the New Hampshire primaries, Nikki Haley vows to stay in the race, even while many conservative voices say it’s time for her to go!
While addressing a crowd of her supporters on Tuesday night, Haley stated that she has no plans to back out of the race.
“New Hampshire is first in the nation,” she said. “It is not the last in the nation. This race is far from over.“
She went on to refer to herself as “a fighter” and claimed that she would be a better candidate against President Joe Biden than her GOP opponent, Donald Trump.
During his victory speech in front of a packed room, Trump disputed her claims.
“We’ve won almost every single poll in the last three months against crooked Joe Biden, almost, and she doesn’t win those polls,” Trump said.
Reactions quickly started pouring in on social media following Trump’s victory over the former United Nations ambassador, including from the Biden campaign and Trump supporters calling on Haley to drop out.
“Congratulations to President Trump on his decisive victory tonight in America’s first-in-the-nation primary!” GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement. “Our House Republican leaders and a majority of Republican Senators support his reelection, and Republican voters in Iowa and New Hampshire have strongly backed him at the polls. It’s now past time for the Republican Party to unite around President Trump so we can focus on ending the disastrous Biden presidency and growing our majority in Congress.”
“If Nikki Haley’s primary goal is to defeat Joe Biden in November, she will drop out tonight and endorse Trump,” Federalist co-founder Sean Davis posted on X. “If she continues to stay in a race she cannot win just to attack Trump, then we’ll know she’s fully owned by the left-wing Democrats who are funding her campaign.”
“Congrats to Donald Trump and the entire team on a decisive victory in New Hampshire!” Ohio GOP Sen. J.D. Vance posted on X. “At this point, Haley can either drop out or help the Democrats.”
In a statement, the Biden presidential campaign said that the results “confirm Donald Trump has all but locked up the GOP nomination, and the election-denying, anti-freedom MAGA movement has completed its takeover of the Republican Party.”
From here, we move to the South Carolina primary, which will take place on Saturday, February 24th, where despite such cries that it’s over for her and polls that say she will lose there again, Haley says she will fight on.
“Every time I’ve run for office in South Carolina, I’ve beaten the political establishment,” she said. “They’re lined up against me again. That’s no surprise. But South Carolina voters don’t want a coronation. They want an election.”