Nikki Haley Supporters ‘Thumb Nose at Trump’ Months After She Drops Out With 128K Votes in Primary
More than two months after ending her campaign, supporters of former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley continue to reject former President Donald Trump's 2024 presidential bid. The most recent insult occurred on May 7 during the GOP primary in Indiana, when Haley received over 128,000 votes—a staggering 22% of the total vote, 'thumbing the nose' at Trump, per Washington Examiner.
Haley even received more than 30% of the vote in several Hoosier State counties, including Marion, Hamilton, and Boone. Indiana put Donald Trump in the running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, per POLITICO. Eight years later, however, with Haley cleaning up in the suburbs, the state he once dubbed “Importantville” sent some blazing red caution flags to his campaign.
Despite Indiana's reputation as a consistently conservative state, the primary served as the most recent indication that Trump, even after securing the GOP nomination in March, still has to unite the GOP around his third presidential bid. Haley's substantial performance comes after many other primaries in which she received notable percentages of the vote despite her dropping out of the presidential campaign more than two months ago.
Haley received over 150,000 votes in the GOP primary in Pennsylvania, and her vote share was almost twice as high as the 80,000 votes that helped Biden defeat Trump in the Keystone State in 2020. During last month's GOP primary, Haley also received over 13% of the vote in Wisconsin, a considerably important battleground state.
The chilly relationship between Trump and Haley is especially noteworthy because a bitter Trump opponent, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), recently visited with the former president in Miami. Haley, however, withdrew from the campaign without even endorsing Trump. Rather, she stated that the former president would have to “earn the votes” of her followers, per The Hill. “It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him, and I hope he does that,” Haley said at the time.
Trump, who has publicly shunned Haley and her voters multiple times throughout his presidential campaign, is doubtful to receive these protest votes, who form a significant portion of the Never Trump camp. President Joe Biden and his team have courted these voters on several occasions. Earlier this year, the Biden campaign released an ad including images of Trump disparaging Haley during the GOP presidential race, with a message warning voters, “If you voted for Nikki Haley, Donald Trump doesn’t want your vote.”
Duncan’s endorsement helps create the permission structure needed to get Republicans and Never Trumpers and Haley voters to actually vote Biden https://t.co/8vcHJN7RYl
— aperri (@aperri) May 6, 2024
Other Never Trump organizations such as The Lincoln Project and Republican Voters Against Trump (RVAT) have spent millions of dollars on spots campaigning for Haley voters to turn Democrat and vote for Biden instead. The super PAC, Primary Pivot, for instance, a strong backer of Haley, relaunched after Super Tuesday as Haley Voters for Biden.
“When people say the NeverTrumpers have to pick a side, they’re missing a big part,” Sarah Longwell of the RVAT told TIME in February. “I will support anyone against Trump. Never means never.”
