COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Nikki Haley is perhaps the most prominent Republican in the country to refuse to support Donald Trump’s presidential bid.
It’s unclear how long that might take.
Some allies believe she may be forced to support him before the November election to avoid lasting alienation of the Republican Party’s base. Some even suspect that Haley will reappear on Trump’s tiny list of vice presidential candidates in the coming months, despite Trump’s recent statement to the contrary.
But if Haley bows to Trump, as so many of his GOP critics have done, she also risks destroying her own coalition of independents, moderates and anti-Trump Republicans who are still showing up to keep her out of the election in low-profile primaries Depth to support – red Indiana to deep blue Maryland. On Tuesday, she gets another chance to show her continued strength in the Kentucky presidential primary, which comes more than two months after she suspended her campaign.
Haley’s decision on Trump will be closely watched in the coming months not only by her supporters but also by allies of Trump and President Joe Biden. What she decides — and whether her coalition follows — could have a profound impact on this year’s general election and her future as a senior Republican whose brand appeals to many people outside her party.
“Nikki Haley could be the person that connects us,” said Thalia Floras, a 62-year-old retail manager from Nashua, New Hampshire, who was a lifelong Democrat before voting for Haley in her state’s January primary.
But Floras also has a warning: “Nikki Haley has a good place with me now. But if she joins Trump, I’m done for.”
Those close to Haley, a 52-year-old former governor and U.N. ambassador, say it is unclear what she will do.
HALEY VOTERS STAND TO USE BUT ONLY BIDEN TRIED
Haley and Trump haven’t spoken to each other in months. That includes the period after she withdrew from the GOP campaign in early March, according to a person with direct knowledge of Haley’s private conversations who was not authorized to speak about them publicly.
And while some Republicans who supported Haley will surely return to Trump on their own, the Biden campaign is working to win over supporters who see them as true swing voters.
Biden’s team is quietly organizing a “Republicans for Biden” group that will eventually include dedicated staffers and focus on the hundreds of thousands of Haley voters in each battleground state, according to people familiar with the plans but not authorized to publicly disclose them to discuss.
The Democratic president has not kept his intentions secret.
Biden issued a statement thanking Haley for her courage in challenging Trump just minutes after she withdrew from the primary race in March.
“Donald Trump has made it clear that he doesn’t want Nikki Haley’s supporters. “I want to be clear: There is a place for her in my campaign,” Biden said at the time.
Trump, meanwhile, said in overdue January that Haley donors would be permanently banned from his “Make America Great Again” camp. Although he has refrained from attacking her since she left the race, Trump also has not made public statements of goodwill, as he has done with other losing rivals such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
As part of Biden’s continued outreach to Haley’s coalition, his campaign released a digital ad overdue last month highlighting Trump’s often personal attacks on Haley, including his primary nickname for her as “Birdbrain” and the implication that “she is not a presidential candidate.” “.
When asked about Trump’s lack of contact with Haley and her supporters, senior adviser Jason Miller avoided any mention of her and instead expressed doubts about the strength of Biden’s coalition of Black Americans, Latinos and teenage voters.
“The reality is that the Republican Party stands united behind President Trump, while the Democratic Party has broken into pieces because of Joe Biden’s disastrous policies on issues like inflation and the border,” Miller said.
Few expect Haley to fully support the Democratic president. Such a decision would make it difficult, if not impossible, for her to win a future GOP presidential primary if she decides to run again.
Instead, Biden’s allies are hoping that Haley, along with other prominent Republican Trump critics, will either remain mute or offer support that focuses on the election’s challenges to democracy rather than directly praising Biden.
If Biden’s team can indeed secure senior Republican supporters, it will likely have to wait several more weeks to unveil those individuals to maximize its impact as voters pay close attention to the November election.
A PRO-BIDEN REPUBLICAN SPEAKS
Former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, a Republican who supported Haley in the GOP primary, formally endorsed Biden earlier this month. In an interview, he said he made the decision before speaking to Biden’s campaign, although Biden called personally to thank him after Duncan announced his decision.
Duncan didn’t rule out playing a prominent role in the Republicans for Biden group or even speaking at the Democratic National Convention this summer, as former Ohio Gov. John Kasich did four years ago.
Duncan hopes Haley ultimately doesn’t support Trump, as so many prominent Republican critics of Trump have done.
“I feel like this would be a short-term sugar rush just to gain favor within the Republican Party,” Duncan said of Haley’s possible endorsement of Trump. “She has the right to do whatever she wants to do. Obviously everyone is playing the political game. But where do we draw the line at some point?”
The list of high-profile Republicans poised to stand up to Trump in 2024 is exceedingly tiny.
Even those who called Trump a threatening threat to democracy, like New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, ultimately supported him. Sununu, who was among Haley’s top national surrogates during the campaign, declined repeated requests to comment on her political future. And DeSantis, once Trump’s main primary rival and another contender in early 2028, now plans to raise money for Trump’s general campaign.
HALEY is stepping back into the public spotlight
Haley has just begun to emerge from a period of post-campaign seclusion in which she took time to reconnect with her family, particularly her husband, a military member who recently returned from a nearly year-long trip abroad.
She plans to give a speech on foreign policy later this week – her first public address since the end of her 2024 campaign – at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank based in Washington, where she has agreed to speak as Walter P. Stern -To act as chairman.
And last week, Haley huddled with dozens of donors and allies behind closed doors in South Carolina, where she thanked her coalition while largely ignoring Trump. She did not encourage attendees to support his campaign.
Simone Levinson, a Haley bundler who attended the private meeting, said there remains an appetite among Republicans for a next-generation figure who can communicate well and build consensus.
“There are very strong signs that it touched a nerve that still resonates with millions of Americans,” said Levinson, who lives in Florida.
YOUR COALITION SENDING A MESSAGE
In fact, without formal organization, advertising or even private encouragement, Haley voters continue to show up in low-profile presidential primaries that run through the end of June, even though Trump is the only candidate still in the race.
Haley received more than 21% of the vote in Maryland’s presidential primary last week. That comes after similar successes were achieved the week before in Indiana and Arizona, just weeks after dropping out of the race.
“She is articulate and intelligent, which Trump is not,” said retired school psychologist Kathy Showen, an independent voter from Cross Lanes, West Virginia, who cast a primary for Haley last week.
Meanwhile, in New Hampshire, Floras said she will reluctantly vote for Biden this fall because she can’t stand Trump. However, she hopes Haley will run again in 2028.
However, her feelings could change if Haley caves and supports Trump before the fall election.
“I would be really disappointed if she didn’t stand up to him,” Floras said. “That would take care of them.”
___
Völker reported from New York. Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa. Associated Press writer John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia, contributed to this report.
