Haley campaigning in New Hampshire. Photo provided.Republished from the Charleston City Paper | The big winner in Tuesday’s New Hampshire Republican primary in all reality was former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley. Former President Donald Trump might have gotten the majority of the votes, but Haley came out ahead to the country.
Haley, who was the last Republican candidate standing after 10 men dropped out of the race, nabbed just over 43% of the vote, compared to the former president’s 54%. For much of the night’s early returns, it looked even closer, surely sending a scare into Trump’s MAGA army.
What this all means is that more than 40% of Republican voters in New Hampshire — and about the same percentage in Iowa’s caucuses the week before — picked a presidential candidate other than Trump to be the GOP nominee. That shows real and palpable weakness for the former president, not strength.
That’s why we urge Haley, known for her tenacity and ambition, to stay the course and resist what must be an enormous amount of political, emotional and institutional pressure to drop out of the race. There are three major reasons she should do this.
First, politics is a game of winning friends, not making enemies. Trump is great at the latter by mocking people, giving them racist or denigrating nicknames and more. Just think about how many American voters of Indian descent are turning away now that he’s given a negative nickname to Nikki. Given enough time with his massive personality issues related to vengeance and narcissism — and most recently of confusing people — he seems to be slowly imploding. Haley, on the other hand, has been winning friends, particularly as she has started to be more critical of Trump. She has momentum. She should trust her instincts and keep going like the little engine that could.
Second, the four criminal cases against Trump, who is facing 91 indictments in various courts, seem to be moving forward, causing him increasing pressure. If he’s convicted of even one count in the months ahead, he becomes a “convicted criminal,” a status that will lead longtime Republicans to flee in droves, as they’ve said in poll after poll. Lesson for Haley: Stay in the game because the party might come running to you to be its nominee.
Third, Americans are waking up to the reality they’ve always known — that Trump is in the race for personal reasons: To be not seen as a loser and to get retribution. Haley, however, is in it for the right reasons, even though we often don’t agree with her on political issues. She wants to help Americans make progress, just like incumbent Joe Biden does.
In politics, timing is everything. We bet Haley would have even gotten closer in New Hampshire had she opened her political guns on Trump a week earlier. Recent criticism seems to have dented his armor and enhanced his rage. By staying the course and competing in many more primaries, Haley will help many Americans break through the brain fog they’ve got about Trump.
The 2024 presidential election needs to be about America, not a bully’s dream to not look like the loser he is. Congratulations, governor. Now get to work.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!