Nikki Haley’s South Carolina Defeat is Unprecedented in US Politics

TL/DR –

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has lost primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, and her home state of South Carolina, with her refusal to drop out of the race marking her as a unique candidate in modern times. Despite her poor performance, Haley plans to stay in the race “as long as I possibly can,” arguing that Republican voters deserve a choice and that Donald Trump, the current favorite, will struggle in a general election. However, Trump’s campaign believes he will have enough delegates to secure the GOP nomination before the end of March, with Haley falling significantly behind.

Republican Haley Loses Multiple Primaries, Still Refuses to Drop Out

CNN — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley remains in the race despite a series of losses in Iowa, New Hampshire, and her home state of South Carolina primaries. The rarity of a losing candidate refusing to withdraw positions her in a unique historical context, with no other modern candidate holding on after multiple losses.

Notably, previous candidates like Sen. Marco Rubio, and Jeb Bush withdrew their campaigns after losing their respective home states. On the Democratic side, Sen. Elizabeth Warren withdrew shorty after the Super Tuesday in 2020.

On the other hand, certain fringe party candidates persist in their campaigns. Such as former Rep. Ron Paul who maintained his candidacy in 2008 and 2012 GOP primaries even after multiple losses and halted active campaigning due to lack of funds.

Haley’s chances of winning any primaries or caucuses remain low, especially considering Trump’s campaign’s belief that he will secure the GOP nomination before the end of March.

Despite these challenging circumstances, Haley intends to continue, mentioning Super Tuesday, March 5, as a significant date. This day will witness more than 35% of the total Republican delegates up for grabs. Haley asserts that Republican primary voters deserve a choice and she persists in her belief that Trump struggles to win the general election.

Haley told CNN’s Jake Tapper, “It is literally impossible that we will win an election if Donald Trump is the nominee,” days before the South Carolina primary. She also added, she’ll stay in the race “as long as I possibly can”.

Nikki Haley: I\’ll stay in race \”as long as I possibly can\”

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