Nikki Haley will begin a two-week bus tour in South Carolina on Saturday in preparation for the next race for the Republican nomination, her home state’s Feb. 24 Republican presidential primary.
“I’m so excited about the Beast Bus Tour of the Southeast,” the former South Carolina governor, who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in former President Donald Trump’s administration, said on social media Friday.
Haley faces a tough uphill battle in the race for the Republican nomination against her former boss, who is the likely front-runner to win the White House for a third consecutive year.
Trump will remain in the Palmetto State this weekend, returning to the campaign trail in South Carolina for the first time in two months.
Trump hits the jackpot in Las Vegas
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at the night caucuses in Las Vegas on February 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
After overwhelmingly winning Nevada’s Republican presidential caucus on Thursday, Trump set his sights on South Carolina.
“Is there a way we can call an election?” an ebullient Trump asked supporters at a victory celebration in Las Vegas, pointing to the latest polls showing him leading by double digits in the upcoming primaries. It pointed out.
The former president’s victory in the Nevada caucuses was never in doubt. Trump was the only major candidate in a race run by a friendly state party where only registered Republicans could vote.
Trump’s convincing victory in the 26-delegate state of Nevada came hours after he won a landslide victory in the presidential caucuses hosted by the U.S. Virgin Islands Republican Party. Ta.
And Thursday’s Nevada caucuses also came two days after he won Nevada’s Republican presidential primary despite not appearing on the ballot.
Trump’s absence from the primary vote was not enough to provide Haley with a path to victory, with two votes for “none of these candidates” in the primary, which had no Republican convention delegates. We lost by more than 1. stake.
Haley accuses Nevada Republican Party official of ‘misconduct’ on Trump’s behalf
Voters voting in the primary could not write Trump’s name, but they could “not vote for any of these candidates.” And a Trump supporter interviewed by Fox News outside the polling place said that’s how he voted.
Republican voters line up to enter the Republican presidential candidate rally at Lois and Jerry Tarkanian Middle School in Las Vegas, February 8, 2024. (FOX News/Monica Oros)
“I don’t want to celebrate any of the above,” Trump said Thursday night, mocking Haley. “I was one of them.”
Haley, who has not campaigned in Nevada since October, downplayed this week’s Silver State primaries and caucuses, saying in an interview with Fox News Digital in Los Angeles on Wednesday that they are “not something we’re considering.” The caucus was “rigged” in Trump’s favor, he said.
Trump won a majority of the votes in the Iowa caucuses on January 15, and a week later, in the New Hampshire primary, where the nomination race became a two-candidate race, he won an 11-point lead over Haley.
“I’m going to be in this for the long haul,” Haley, who is facing calls from some Republicans to end her bid for the White House, told supporters in California this week.
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In Haley’s home state of South Carolina, the former president enjoys the support of the state’s governor, nearly the entire Congressional delegation, and numerous state legislators and local officials.
Dave Wilson, a veteran Republican consultant based in South Carolina, pointed to President Trump’s “swell” in the state and emphasized the former president’s “ground troops.”
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley waves to the crowd during a campaign event at New Realm Brewing Company on February 4, 2024 in Charleston, South Carolina. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)
Wilson also said that “Nikki Haley is making a comeback in South Carolina,” as “nearly a million people have moved to the statehouse since Nikki Haley was governor.”
However, Wilson cited her undefeated election record and said, “Never underestimate Nikki Haley. Never count Nikki Haley out.”
Looking ahead, Haley reiterated, “Our focus is on South Carolina, Michigan and Super Tuesday.”
What Nikki Haley told FOX Digital about what she needs to do to keep running
Michigan’s primary will be held on Tuesday, February 27th, three days after South Carolina’s Republican primary. Fifteen states, including the giant states of California and Texas, will hold contests a week later on Super Tuesday.
Haley’s two campaign stops in California on Wednesday were her first in the Super Tuesday state.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, former ambassador to the United Nations and governor of South Carolina, signs autographs after a campaign rally at American Legion Hollywood Post 43 in Los Angeles on February 7, 2024. (FOX News/Paul Steinhauser)
The trip also included a series of fundraisers. And as Fox News Digital first reported Wednesday, Haley raised $1.7 million during her two days in California.
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“We were smart” when it came to campaign finance, Haley told Fox News Digital.
She emphasized that, “If we don’t manage our finances well, we won’t be the last one standing against Donald Trump.”
Get the latest on the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more with Fox News Digital’s Election Hub.
