Nikki Haley finally won a primary over the weekend. The former South Carolina governor clinched the inconsequential DC primary, which isn’t shocking. The capital’s Republican voter base is made up of Democrats. It’s a short-lived ‘win’ for the floundering campaign, as former President Donald Trump has a commanding lead for the GOP nomination. On Super Tuesday, Haley isn’t projected to win any states. She’s averaging high-30s-40s in these contests, getting demolished by Trump at every turn.
Even with proportional allocation, these figures aren’t enough to challenge Trump. NBC News’ Steve Kornacki broke down this week’s showdown, where the former president is projected to bury Haley in the delegate count (via RealClearPolitics):
Steve Kornacki: "Nikki Haley is going to get buried in a delegate avalanche on Super Tuesday." pic.twitter.com/dLmerGkZjy
— Bad Hombre (@joma_gc) March 3, 2024
So, take a look here, though. This is all, as we say, assuming that Nikki Haley does not pull off the mother of all political miracles on Tuesday, because right now, here's the Republican race. You see the delegate count: Trump, by a 10-to-1 margin, leading Nikki Haley. And you see what's going to come up Tuesday. Let me call those up. These are all the states and all the results we've had so far. But let's call up the big one, Super Tuesday here, and just take a look at this map. And I think you'll see the challenge Haley faces. Here's all the states. And, you know, you start. It's the map, and it's the rules. California, you would think, is a great state for Nikki Haley. Closed primary. Independents can't vote. Democrats can't vote. And it's winner-take-all. If Trump just gets 50% plus one, he gets all 169 delegates out of California. A lot of states that are like that. Alabama's essentially a winner-take-all. Arkansas's essentially a winner-take-all here. Texas is, at the statewide level, essentially winner-take-all, as well. They also give out votes by congressional district, but if you look at those districts, they really look friendly to Trump.
The bottom line for Nikki Haley, when you look at this map: 40%'s not going to cut it. Unless she's winning states – winning multiple states on Tuesday – she's going to get buried in a delegate avalanche.
Donald Trump also cleaned up in the Missouri and Idaho primary contests this week (via CBS News):
Former President Donald Trump on Saturday won the Missouri, Michigan and Idaho Republican caucuses, CBS News projects, all three of which will award delegates for the GOP presidential nomination.
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, meanwhile, is still seeking her first win.
Trump won all 54 Republican delegates available in Missouri, as well as all 39 delegates which were at stake Saturday in Michigan's district caucuses. That was in addition to the 12 at-large delegates Trump won in Michigan's Republican primary Tuesday.
CBS News projects that Trump also swept all 32 delegates in Idaho.
So, yes, Nikki Haley came away with a win this weekend by dominating the swamp. She’s still going to lose this primary to Trump, and the former UN ambassador is now saying she won’t honor the RNC pledge to support the eventual nominee. She had time to do the right thing and drop out before this spectacle became a national embarrassment. Too late now.
