By STEVE PEOPLES and JAMES POLLARD (Associated Press)
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — For months, the underdog within the presidential major refused to concede defeat. He fought laborious in state after state, even because the front-runner amassed a delegate benefit that may be nearly not possible to beat.
The prolonged feud between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton in 2016, which turned extra bitter as time handed, left behind Democratic divisions that may finally contribute to their get together’s crushing common election loss.
Eight years later, some Republicans worry that historical past could quickly repeat itself.
Nikki Haley ‘s path to the GOP nomination is rapidly shrinking following recent losses in Iowa and New Hampshire. But she’s vowing to remain within the race indefinitely, backed by 1000’s of dedicated donors, a key slice of the get together’s average wing and a brand new willingness to assault the psychological health and authorized baggage of 2024 Republican front-runner Donald Trump. And the tougher Haley fights, the extra Republican officers worry she could harm his long-term prospects within the all-but sure common election forward towards Democratic President Joe Biden.
Former Trump adviser David Urban described Haley’s continued presence as a distraction, a drain on assets and a supply of frustration.
“Nobody on Trump’s team thinks (a Biden matchup) is going to be easy. It’s going to be a bumpy road. It’s going to be a tough race. They want to hit the starter’s pistol and get going,” Urban stated. “People need to start coming together and working together. But right now, none of that is happening because she’s still out there stoking the anti-Trump fire.”
‘I am not going anywhere’
Of course, Haley is in a a lot totally different place than Sanders was throughout the epic 2016 marketing campaign. The Vermont senator truly received contests, together with his 22-point victory within the New Hampshire major. Unless she manages a dramatic turnaround, Haley’s 11-point deficit in the identical state final month could show to be the excessive level of her presidential bid.
Haley determined to skip Nevada’s presidential caucuses subsequent Thursday in favor of a state major election two days earlier that doesn’t award delegates. Trump may embarrass Haley in her house state of South Carolina later within the month, the place the previous president has a loyal following. A Washington Post-Monmouth University ballot on Thursday discovered Trump with a 26 level lead within the state.
Yet in sensible phrases — and in Haley’s calculus — the GOP major has barely begun. Just two states have voted to date in a course of that can finally span all 50 earlier than concluding on the GOP’s nationwide nominating conference in July.
“I am not going anywhere,” she advised reporters on Thursday. “We have a country to save. And I am determined to keep on going the entire way. As long as we can keep closing that gap, I’m gonna keep staying in.”
Such feedback more and more draw Trump’s ire as he’s keen to maneuver previous the first utterly and give attention to Biden. At roughly the identical time Haley was talking, Trump was attacking her on social media. One put up he shared stated, “Nikki Haley is bought and paid for by our political enemies,” and one other described Haley as “deeply disliked” by a rising variety of Americans.
Some Republicans fear that Trump’s preoccupation with Haley, whom he incessantly calls “birdbrain,” may additional alienate average voters and suburban girls.
HALEY ASSETS GROWING
Haley is getting stronger by some measures.
Her marketing campaign has raised $5 million from small-dollar donors within the days since she completed in second place in New Hampshire, in accordance with spokesperson Nachama Soloveichik. She’s additionally within the midst of a four-state fundraising tour that can characteristic not less than 10 closed-door occasions with rich donors. This week’s preliminary swing by means of New York netted greater than $1.5 million, Soloveichik stated.
Republican fundraiser Eric Levine, who co-hosted one of many New York occasions, stated the few hundred Haley donors who gathered earlier within the week “remain as committed to Haley as ever.”
Haley marketing campaign supervisor Betsy Ankney highlighted the candidate’s dedication to the race throughout a gathering with a number of the GOP’s main donors earlier within the week in Florida, in accordance with two Republican officers within the room granted anonymity to share non-public discussions. Trump senior adviser Susie Wiles additionally delivered a presentation to the group, which was designed to spotlight the previous president’s tightening grip on the nomination.
Many main donors stay crucial of Trump, however a number of the greatest would-be Haley supporters are primarily in a holding sample forward of South Carolina’s Feb. 24 major. They imagine she is basically totally funded for the remainder of the month and there’s little extra they’ll do within the brief time period, in accordance with the officers.
Two of the group’s founders, billionaire hedge fund managers Ken Griffin and Paul Singer, every donated $5 million to Haley’s 2024 bid in current weeks, in accordance with federal filings made public this week.
Trump additionally continues to report robust fundraising totals. But his authorized troubles are consuming an enormous portion of his donors’ {dollars}.
Two of Trump’s political motion committees spent roughly $50 million in donor funds on the previous president’s authorized charges final yr, in accordance with federal filings made public this week. And his authorized prices are persevering with to develop.
HALEY’S AGGRESSIVE STRATEGY
Haley has begun to ratchet up assaults towards Trump, a deliberate technique designed to spotlight the previous president’s obtrusive liabilities, together with his authorized baggage and his age.
The marketing campaign lumped Trump and Biden collectively in a brand new assault advert this week calling them “Grumpy Old Men.” She’s additionally working to hyperlink the 77-year-old Trump’s refusal to debate to questions on his psychological acuity. And in a Wednesday interview on the “Breakfast Club” radio program, she blamed Trump for the state of the nation’s politics.
“He’s made it chaotic,” she stated. “He’s made it self-absorbed.”
Her message seems to be resonating with a key group of swing voters who play a pivotal position on the whole elections.
In New Hampshire’s current major, for instance, Trump received a decisive victory towards Haley backed by his reputation amongst conventional Republican voters. But he misplaced a majority of moderates and about two-thirds of those that determine as independents, in accordance with AP VoteCast. He additionally misplaced about 6 in 10 who’ve faculty levels, and he’s proven a persistent vulnerability amongst voters dwelling in suburbs.
But the Republican base continues to be decidedly behind Trump. And a rising group of Republican elected officers on Capitol Hill are calling for Haley to give up the race. Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel stated just lately that it was time to unite behind Trump.
B.J. Hopper, an 81-year-old self-described “Never Trumper,” is uncertain that Haley will catch Trump, however she attended Thursday’s cease in South Carolina’s capital metropolis as a result of she’s attempting to be hopeful.
“It’d be a miracle,” Hopper stated of a Haley victory within the state’s upcoming major.
As a lot of the eye shifts to South Carolina, Haley’s marketing campaign insists her purpose there isn’t to win, however merely to point out progress in comparison with New Hampshire. She’s constructing marketing campaign infrastructure in next-up Michigan and several other states that host major contests on March 5, also referred to as “Super Tuesday.”
The Haley marketing campaign has already rolled out management groups and “Women for Nikki” chapters in all 15 Super Tuesday states. A professional-Haley tremendous PAC can also be coordinating get-out-the-vote efforts in South Carolina, Michigan and a number of tremendous Tuesday states. That’s along with the Koch-backed conservative group, Americans for Prosperity, which has devoted its military of grassroots activists on the bottom in a number of key states to serving to Haley.
Specifically, the group is knocking on doorways, sending pro-Haley mail and working on-line advertisements in Tennessee, North Carolina, Arkansas and Virginia.
But the Koch community is not going to proceed to help her if it determines there isn’t a path to victory, in accordance with conversations between Koch officers and donors at a personal retreat final week in California, the place Haley mentioned the state of her presidential marketing campaign throughout a brief video name.
During a separate session with high donors, AFP Action senior advisers Emily Seidel and Michael Palmer reaffirmed the group’s resolution to endorse Haley on condition that she is the final Trump various standing, in accordance with an official with direct data of the conversations who spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate technique.
Seidel and Palmer additionally made clear to donors that the group wouldn’t make future investments to any marketing campaign if there isn’t a alternative to win, the official stated, pointing to the Kochs’ longstanding business-like method to politics.
Meanwhile, different Republican operatives imagine Haley’s continued candidacy creates pointless dangers for the notoriously undisciplined Trump.
“The longer she hangs around and the more Trump focuses on her, the greater likelihood you get unforced errors,” stated Republican pollster Neil Newhouse. “She’s giving ammunition to Biden’s campaign.”
Peoples reported from New York.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”