Nikki Haley hosts a rally in Conway as part of her swing in the Palmetto State leading up to the State’s primary, in Conway SC, United States on January 28, 2024.Â
Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images
Former South Carolina governor and GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Tuesday delivered a clear message: she has the means and the motivation to ensure the Republican primary does not end anytime soon.
During a speech billed as a “state of the race” update, Haley said she intends to stay in the 2024 election, regardless of her performance in the upcoming South Carolina Republican primary.
“South Carolina will vote on Saturday. But on Sunday I’ll still be running for President. I’m not going anywhere,” Haley said in Greenville, South Carolina.
Trump is leading by roughly 30 points in Haley’s home state, according to a recent poll from USA Today and Suffolk University.
“Some of you â perhaps a few of you in the media â came here today to see if I’m dropping out of the race. Well, I’m not. Far from it,” said Haley.
Haley says she will campaign at least through Super Tuesday, March 5, when 16 states and territories, totaling over a third of all GOP delegates, will be at stake.
Haley’s bullishness suggests that even in the face of daunting odds, she still has two essential ingredients to mount a political campaign: resolve and funding.
“We have the resources to go the distance,” a spokesperson for Haley’s campaign told CNBC, noting that January was the campaign’s strongest fundraising month to date, with $16.5 million booked in contributions.
The spokesperson also pointed to several instances where Trump’s attacks on Haley led to millions of fundraising dollars. For example, Haley raised $1 million in 48 hours after Trump attacked Haley’s husband’s military service.
Haley’s presidential campaign initially picked up steam late last year, when she secured high-profile financial support from names like billionaire Charles Koch’s political network, Americans for Prosperity Action, and a flurry of Wall Street megadonors. Those networks lent her the clout and financing to kick her campaign into high gear.
In recent weeks, some of those donors have tightened their wallets. Billionaire Reid Hoffman, for instance, said he would pause his Haley donations after her loss in the New Hampshire primary.
Nonetheless, Haley’s robust fundraising has been a nagging thorn in the Trump campaign’s side.
One day after Haley secured 43% of the New Hampshire vote, for example, the former president took to social media to declare that any Haley donors would be “permanently barred from the MAGA camp.” That threat drove $2 million in contributions over 48 hours to the Haley campaign, according to a Haley spokesperson.