Haley says she’s ‘not going anywhere’ after Nevada primary loss

Republican presidential candidate and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley insisted she is “not going anywhere” despite another primary loss in Nevada earlier this week.

On Tuesday night, Haley lost in the Silver State’s primary to “none of these candidates,” her campaign said, as the Republican front-runner, former President Trump, wasn’t even on the ballot. It was a big blow to momentum. Despite her loss, Haley vowed to remain in the race at a campaign event in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be in this for the long term,” Haley said, without mentioning the loss at Nevada. “And this is going to be hard. And this is going to hurt and leave bruises.”

There were no contested delegates in Tuesday’s election. Instead, all 26 Nevada Republican delegates will participate in Thursday’s caucuses, with Trump expected to win.

There are only two major candidates left in the Republican primary: Haley and Trump. After losses in Iowa and New Hampshire, Haley is looking to do well in her home state of South Carolina later this month and in the Super Tuesday races in March.

The former president leads Haley in the Palmetto State, 61.2% to 30.3%, according to The Hill/Decision Desk Headquarters polling average. The state’s primary election will be held on February 24th.

The former governor’s campaign has argued that she would perform better than Trump in a head-to-head matchup with President Biden, the likely Democratic nominee in November’s election. She also criticized the couple’s ages and continued to advocate for mental competency tests.

“Do we really want the country to be in turmoil, the world to be on fire, and have two candidates in their 80s?” she told the rally. “We need people who can get the job done over eight years and get the country back on track.”

California’s primary election does not take place until Super Tuesday, March 5th.

According to The Hill/Decision Desk Headquarters polling average for the California Republican primary, Ms. Haley’s approval rating is close to 16%, far behind Mr. Trump. Trump has an approval rating of about 65%, leading the former U.N. ambassador by nearly 50 points, according to Hill/Decision Desk headquarters.