At this point, it is pretty much certain that former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley’s bid for the Republican nomination is over. Yet, there are rumors that she may not be done influencing the remaining GOP candidates’ races.
With Super Tuesday results flying in, it’s become quite evident that Trump is the man to beat, or should I say the only one left standing. With now numerous primary wins, it would take a massive miracle for Haley to gain pretty much any more momentum and definitely win the nomination.
But some are suggesting that her time on the campaign trail might not be through.
You might remember that approaching Super Tuesday, Haley didn’t give much hope of lasting through that auspicious day, noting that it would likely be her final campaign commitment.
However, the speculation is that in clearly losing the Republican nomination, she may turn her sights to an independent one.
Haley faces growing third-party speculation https://t.co/nAj4tMXcLs
— Bo Snerdley (@BoSnerdley) March 4, 2024
According to the Hill, the bipartisan group No Labels has been looking for a third-party candidate for a while now. It was rumored that outgoing Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia might take it. But since he has announced not to go that route, the group clearly must look elsewhere.
And No Labels co-chairman and former Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman says Haley might be a good fit.
⚠️ 𝐍𝐢𝐤𝐤𝐢 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐑𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞:
The National Director for No Labels, an organization that will be running a third-party candidate in the 2024 presidential election, said that Nikki Haley is “𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲… pic.twitter.com/jri1XEAUql— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) February 26, 2024
As he told Politico in January, “If Gov. Haley does not succeed in obtaining the Republican nomination for president and she declares any interest in being part of our bipartisan unity ticket, I’m sure the people at No Labels would give that the most serious consideration.”
Since mention of that possibility, Haley has vowed she would not be interested in such a thing. As she says, she is a “Republican,” so she’s not going to run as anything else or talk “to any other organization.”
She’s also mentioned not being interested at all in a “unity” ticket, meaning she would be paired with a Democrat. To her, that’s just not something she can do.
“I’ve always believed if you do something, do it right or don’t do it. And so I don’t think I can do it right. If I ran for No Labels, that would mean it’s about me. It’s not about me. It’s about the direction I think the country should go.”
But Haley also isn’t exactly one to always keep her word.
Remember when she told The Associated Press in 2021 that she’d never choose to run against Trump? And look where we are now.
It should also be pointed out that while Haley says she has no interest in working with Democrats, she certainly has no problem getting donations and support from them. Billionaire LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, for instance, has donated a whopping $250,000 to a Super PAC in Haley’s name. And yes, she knows that he also supports Biden and is a Democrat himself.
Additionally, she pretty much put out an invitation to all, “Republican, independent, or Democrat,” to join in support of her in December. “Anybody that wants to come to support the cause… we’re going to take them.”
So forgive me if I don’t exactly take her word as gospel on not running as an independent in the near future.
Of course, it wouldn’t be so she could actually win the presidency herself. Naturally, anyone with an independent campaign has got to know there is little chance of winning.
However, such a run might be just enough to hurt her competitor’s chances of winning, taking just enough votes to ensure Trump can’t win. You know, kind of like how Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is taking votes from Biden.
For Haley, that might be satisfying enough. We’ll just have to wait and see.
