When former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley dropped out of the 2024 GOP presidential primary and gave a concession speech the morning after Super Tuesday, a burning question on the minds of political journalists was: Where are Haley's voters going to go?
President Joe Biden made it clear that he would welcome them as part of his coalition in the general election. In 2020, many non-MAGA conservatives endorsed Biden — including GOP activist Cindy McCain, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) and former New Jersey Gov. Christie Todd Whitman. And four years later, the incumbent Democratic president is obviously hoping that some Haley voters will become Biden voters.
Biden, in his announcement, said of Haley voters, "I want to be clear: There is a place for them in my campaign."
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In a report published by The Independent on March 7, journalist Eric Garcia stresses that Trump and the MAGA movement — in contrast to Biden — don't appear to be going out of their way to attract conservatives, suburbanites and independents who voted for Haley in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.
"The end of primaries always expose raw feelings," Garcia explains. "Candidates and their staff often devote a great deal of time to their campaign away from their families and slogging it out on the road. Therefore, it's often up to the victor to win over those who voted for their competitor. But Trump and his movement seem wholly uninterested in winning back those Haley-curious voters he needs to win."
Haley's presidential campaign appealed to a lot of non-MAGA conservatives who clearly didn't want Trump to be the nominee. At this point, Trump's nomination is all but certain. It remains to be seen, however, how much support Haley voters will give him in the general election.
"Trump recently said, 'We're getting rid of the Romneys of the world,'" Garcia observes. "In a similar vein, when Kari Lake ran for governor (of Arizona), she said McCain Republicans needed to 'get the hell out' — a move which likely cost her the governorship. But the problem is that the voters who previously voted for Mitt Romney in 2012 and who voted for Haley in the primary are now leaving the Republican Party."
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Garcia continues, "On Super Tuesday, Haley continued her trend of eating into Trump’s leads in suburban areas. In Virginia, she won in the Washington suburbs of Alexandria and Fairfax County, as well as Charlottesville — the home of the University of Virginia — and tony neighboring Albemarle County. That's a sign that the old country-club Republicans are not sold on him."
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Read The Independent's full report at this link.