No, a long shot Nikki Haley 2024 bid is not comparable to Larry Hogan’s delusions
Tiana Lowe
At the forefront of the shadow primary for the Republican presidential contest is a one-way fight between Donald Trump, who announced his run 2 1/2 seconds after his nominees cost the GOP control of the Senate, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who refuses to respond to the former president’s barbs.
But now, Trump faces a challenger in the actual primary. Nikki Haley, his former ambassador to the United Nations, is slated to announce her run, despite her previous pledge not to challenge her one-time boss.
NIKKI HALEY TO ANNOUNCE WHITE HOUSE BID FEB 15
The increasing number of Republicans wishing to move on from Trump, who will be 78 on election night, are rightly terrified of a clown car primary like the one that almost cost Biden his 2020 nomination (and thus, the Democrats their eventual victory). Based on the polling, DeSantis is the surest bet for the statistical majority of Republicans ready to move on from Trump. But can Haley coalesce a plurality, or would she simply serve as a spoiler?
With the Florida governor front of mind to voters, Haley is currently a long shot in the polls. A Trafalgar poll in the Palmetto State gives its junior U.S. senator, Tim Scott, 14.3% of primary support, with Haley garnering just 11.6% support. In a 10-candidate field nationally, a poll by the Bulwark, of all places, ties Haley with Liz Cheney at a mere 4% each.
But that doesn’t mean that Haley’s long shot bid is tantamount to the 2024 delusions of Larry Hogan or Cheney. Go back to her favorables, and it’s clear that Haley doesn’t have a clear ceiling.
That Bulwark poll found that 47% of Republicans overall and Trump voters have a favorable opinion, with only 6% of GOP respondents having an unfavorable opinion. Compare that to Cheney, who is considered unfavorable by a majority of Republicans.
Does Nikki Haley have a chance of winning the Republican presidential primary? It’s certainly too early to say, but critics would point out that her numbers don’t look great, either to win the entire primary or to galvanize the field against Trump. But Haley retired from the Trump administration half a decade ago. By her calculus, she likely knew she had to get in and gamble on the party, or get out of politics entirely.
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