Nikki Haley was soundly thrashed in her home state's GOP primary election this weekend, losing to Donald Trump by 20 points. But South Carolina's former governor isn't quitting.
Her insistence on staying in the race puts her in a rarefied position: the losing candidate who won't quit. No other major, modern candidate has refused to drop out of the race after so many losses. …
If Haley isn't likely – at least not at the moment – to win any primaries or caucuses, is there an argument she could amass enough to keep Trump from securing it?
That also seems extremely unlikely. Trump's campaign believes the former president will have enough delegates to secure the GOP nomination – the magic number is 1,215 of 2,429 delegates – before the end of March. Heading into South Carolina, Trump had 63 delegates and Haley had 17.
What they won't say is that Trump is old, unhealthy and not making sense in his speeches. She's staying in it because he's one Wendy's Big Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger with Adderall and Coke away from stroking out, it could happen at any moment, and if she's on the train when it happens she gets the job. If she drops she might have to fight it out with Pence and all the other losers at the convention.
If it seems good to have her in the mix forcing him to fight for it, though, consider that she's nuts. Newspapers aren't pretending she's a "moderate" alternative anymore because it's too much work: after the IVF ruling in Alabama she tried to outflank him on the right only to find that there's nothing there. She's morphing into Ron DeSantis for the spring campaign like the worst butterfly in America. Media turning against her candidacy is a sign, though, that it should continue: they want her gone so they can tell simpler stories about victorious Trump heading into the fall.
Previously: "None of these candidates" beats Nikki Haley in Nevada's GOP primary. Trump wasn't on the ballot.
