In the coming days, Haley will travel across the country at a feverish pace, touring at least seven states and Washington, D.C., in what could be the final stretch of her campaign.
He will make two stops in Michigan, North Carolina and Virginia, in addition to visiting Minnesota, Colorado, Utah and Massachusetts, and the campaign is expected to announce events in more states. And Haley continues to aggressively raise money and plans to hold at least 10 fundraisers in those 10 days, according to a campaign official who was granted anonymity to speak freely.
But everything could come to an end right after that. On Saturday, Haley suggested that she is not necessarily committed to staying in the race beyond March 5.
“We’re going to continue until Super Tuesday,” Haley told reporters after casting her vote on Kiawah Island, inside a private, gated community. “That’s all I’ve thought about in terms of moving forward.”
The list of states where Haley could make a splash between now and Super Tuesday is small. Even if he wins the Michigan primary, Trump will likely win the majority of delegates, most of which will be awarded at a state convention next weekend.
And while there are some Super Tuesday states with a history of nominating moderate Republicans in primaries, polls even there show Trump with a big lead. In Vermont, which has open primaries and where the moderate, anti-Trump governor, Phil Scott, has been the Republican candidate in four consecutive elections, a poll this week showed Trump leading Haley by 30 points.
She did better on Saturday than recent polls, which showed her 30 points behind Trump in South Carolina. And Haley has continued to insist that Americans deserve a “choice” beyond Trump or President Joe Biden.
But in her speech to supporters at her party on election night, Haley avoided suggesting she would stay in the fight long term.
Asked Saturday morning to clarify her comments earlier this week that she would continue campaigning “until the last person votes” and whether she would remain in the race until the Republican convention in July, Haley said she was only referring to to Southern voters. Carolina.
Haley’s campaign manager, Betsy Ankney, said Friday that the campaign is launching a “seven-figure” national ad buy on digital and cable platforms ahead of Super Tuesday.
Ad tracking firm AdImpact shows Haley’s campaign currently spending $340,000 in Detroit and $96,000 in the Grand Rapids market ahead of the Feb. 27 Michigan primary: A TV ad touting Haley’s recent endorsement by of The Detroit News, as well as its overall platform.
Meanwhile, Haley has formed campaign leadership teams in 11 states with upcoming primaries, including Alaska.
For now, Haley continues her attacks on Trump and says she is not afraid of his wrath. After leaving her polling place on Saturday, she referred to Trump’s comments before an audience of black conservatives the night before as another reason why she is unfit to be president. Trump, speaking at a dinner in Columbia, said the accusation of him is “why black people like him,” and that he “could only see black people” in the room because of the bright lighting.
“It’s disgusting,” Haley said. “That is the offensive that will emerge every day until the general elections. “That’s why I keep saying Donald Trump can’t win a general election.”
And then there are Trump’s legal problems. His criminal trial on charges stemming from paying hush money to a porn star is scheduled to begin March 25, putting Trump in the courtroom and off the campaign trail.
Haley and her team have long dodged questions about their primary viability, instead trying to focus the issue on Trump’s weaknesses with the general electorate. But in recent days, campaign officials have reiterated that they are clear-eyed about Haley’s dwindling chances of pulling off a primary upset.
Four times during a briefing with reporters on Friday, Ankney acknowledged that “they know the odds” for Haley. He said Haley would continue to plead her case until “the door closes.”
Mark Harris, senior adviser to the pro-Haley super PAC SFA Fund, Inc., declined to say what the group will do to support Haley ahead of the Super Tuesday contests. And he declined to make the case for Haley staying in the race beyond March 5, saying she is making her own argument. But he said the super PAC, which has spent more on primary ads than any other Republican group, will stick with Haley as long as she remains in the race.
“As long as she’s fighting, we’re fighting,” Harris said. “We are prepared for all eventualities.”
In FEC filings on Saturday, SFA Fund, Inc. reported spending $500,000 on Haley’s ads in Michigan, and an official with the super PAC said they would likely make additional purchases early in the week. Key states of interest to Haley’s allies, the official said, are Vermont, Virginia, Utah, Colorado and Maine.
A spokesperson for Americans for Prosperity Action, the Koch-aligned conservative group that endorsed Haley, declined to say whether the group will continue to support Haley’s campaign effort after the South Carolina primary, where they knocked on doors and ran ads in television and digital. The group’s chief executive, Emily Seidel, previously said they would take a “business approach” to determine whether they would continue to spend money to support it.
At Haley’s election night party in downtown Charleston, Christie Gilbert, 49, of Columbia, said she remained surprised that more people in her home state didn’t support their former governor. That included her father, who Gilbert said had planned to vote for Haley but changed his mind before going to the polls Saturday morning because of Haley’s plan to raise the retirement age for welfare programs. .
When asked how long Haley should continue before ending her offer, Gilbert said, “it’s probably getting close.”
“I would say Super Tuesday: go through it,” Gilbert said, “and then walk away at that point if you can’t get the support you need to move forward.”
Steven Shepard contributed to this report.