Nikki Haley's backers urge her to carry on as she's down in South Carolina

Nikki Haley is on track to suffer a big defeat to Trump in her home state of South Carolina. Her supporters say they aren’t worried.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Nikki Haley has lost big to Donald Trump in both Iowa and New Hampshire, and the coming states aren’t looking any better for her. But at a local BBQ joint here Thursday, Haley railed against the “political elite pushing us to name a nominee when only two states have voted.”

“Why would we stop now?” asked Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and ambassador to the United Nations. 

The crowd was with her. 

“Don’t stop!” her supporters shouted. “Don’t stop! Don’t stop!”

The message belied the realities on the ground — realities that haven’t escaped her own backers. Haley is on track to lose each of the GOP’s first four major nominating contests by significant margins — including in her home state, South Carolina, where a Monmouth University/Washington Post survey published Thursday showed her trailing Trump by 26 points, virtually unchanged since September. South Carolina is considered to be among Trump’s strongest states, and it looks as though Haley’s success here will depend considerably on how many Democrats cross over and back her.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/nikki-haley-south-carolina-trump-rcna136254

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