Why Nikki Haley bothers to battle on after a Trump trouncing

A few weeks ago, Nikki Haley’s campaign was on thin ice.

There had been a disappointing finish in New Hampshire, the state she had pinned her hopes on, and a humiliating loss in Nevada, where no other candidate was on the ballot.

Her campaign now seems dead in the water after the former president secured 60 per cent of the vote in her home state of South Carolina on Saturday night.

Mr Trump is already focusing on the general election.

He delivered a victory speech within minutes of the polls closing at 7pm, with news outlets already projecting his win in the state.

By 7.30pm, his results night watch party was emptying out – before Ms Haley had even made a speech.

When she finally mounted her own stage, Ms Haley, an accountant by training, said she knew that “40 per cent is not 50 per cent”.

But she remained defiant, saying it was “not some tiny group” either, and vowed to “keep fighting”.

Republicans gathered at a river-side watch party in Charleston, the state’s largest city, and the heartland of her support base had lost interest before Ms Haley even began.

Many of those present were fans – but they hadn’t voted for her.

“I like her. I don’t like her [more than Trump] today, but I will like her in four years,” said Tom Fagan, 50.

For Amber Sparks, a 55-year-old legal assistant, voting for Mr Trump had been about “personality over policy”.

Saturday night’s results underscore how widely-held those views are among Republicans.

Mr Trump has proven his stranglehold on the party base, and the Haley campaign hasn’t named a single state it expects to win.

It begs the question, why is Ms Haley bothering to battle on?

She may well feel that following defeat in her own state, she has nothing left to lose by continuing.

In the world of US presidential politics, most campaigns don’t end, they run out of money. And Ms Haley still has the cash to power her bid for a while longer.

At just 52, Ms Haley has the potential for a long political career ahead of her and already has half an eye on the next presidential race in 2028.

Her pitch has been centred on the fact that numerous polls have shown her beating Joe Biden. Those same polls have shown Mr Trump losing to the 81-year-old Democrat.

If that proves true, in four years, Ms Haley could have a persuasive line of argument for the GOP base: I told you so.

Ms Haley may also have more immediate concerns in mind.

Mr Trump is facing 91 criminal counts across four cases, and the real threat of a conviction before November’s election.

In such a scenario, polls suggest he would be in real jeopardy with independent voters, and even a significant minority of Republicans.

Meanwhile, his warchest has taken a significant hit. His campaign spent more than it brought in last month, largely due to his legal bills.

As she addressed supporters in Charleston on Saturday night, Ms Haley signaled she will stay in the race until “Super Tuesday” on March 5, by which time another 21 states and territories will have voted.

“They have the right to a real choice, not a Soviet-style election with only one candidate. And I have a duty to give them that choice,” she said.

At the Charleston watch party, just one supporter appeared to be listening attentively, but he was fervently nodding along in approval.

Dr George Gatgounis, 63, said Ms Haley had “none of the baggage” of the 77-year-old Mr Trump and his myriad legal cases.

In a “what if” scenario, he said, “we do need a backup person and she is the strongest backup person”.Ms Haley may be making the same calculation.

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