For almost a decade, former president Donald Trump has been the leading face of the Republican party. Since winning the 2016 presidential election, most conservatives haven’t bothered to find any other politicians to support. Although other Republican candidates tried to tackle the billionaire businessman in the primaries last year, most were fruitless in their efforts and dropped out of the race. However, one opponent still faces him: Nikki Haley.
For background, Nimarata Nikki Randhawa was born in Bamberg, South Carolina, on Jan. 20, 1972, to two Sikh immigrants from the Punjab region in India. Being called by her middle name, meaning “little one,” she attended Clemson University and graduated with a degree in accounting and finance. She eventually became involved in civic roles, being on the board of directors for multiple organizations and becoming a part of the South Carolina House of Representatives. In 2011, she was elected as the governor of South Carolina, serving for six years before becoming the United States ambassador to the United Nations. Now, you would think that a resume like that would impress voters of any political affiliation, but that hasn’t been the case since the primaries began.
Haley was not the only well-known candidate for the Republican party. She was up against a lot of opponents besides Trump: Florida governor Ron DeSantis, former vice president Mike Pence, Vivek Ramaswami, and tons more. Despite the initial numbers being against her, she was able to swim through the sharks, according to Dr. John Hanley, who researches and teaches for the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs at the University of Central Florida. Hanley believes “Haley was able to survive longer than the others because she took a more consistent line on Trump and was more credible as an alternative to him.” Her reputation and line of questioning were her main source of endurance during her campaign.
While she had a chance to go after some candidates for their views, some of her views are considered controversial. Between her back-and-forth statements concerning racism in the Civil War and her recent comments on increasing the retirement age to 70, she’s not exactly seen in the brightest light. However, this hasn’t stopped her from achieving some success in the race. “First, she’s the more moderate candidate versus Trump— it’s not like anyone’s saying, ‘Haley is too racist, so I’m going to vote for Trump.’” says Dr. Hanley. “Second, I think that the media and political landscape has changed since 2016— blunders and bad answers don’t hurt candidates as much as they used to.”
Even with most Republicans shutting down their campaigns, Trump is not her only opponent. Nothing is against her: literally. In the state of Nevada, the winning option for the Republican primaries was “none of these candidates.” Haley was the first candidate to ever lose to that option since it became a part of the state’s ballot in 1975 (and mind you, Trump wasn’t on the Nevada ticket). Even with her stance on being the candidate to vote for if you don’t like Trump, she isn’t considered a viable option for her party.
So, the question still hangs in the air: why is Haley still in the race? Some may think that the answer has to do with Trump’s legal affairs, as he’s currently facing criminal charges that could take him out, but it’s hard to tell. “It’s anyone’s guess why she’s still running. It might be somewhat personal—Trump has attacked her husband and she’s faced a lot of animosity over her ethnicity and background,” Dr. Hanley speculates. Being a woman of color in a political party dominated by white men has never been an easy feat, much less any kind of minority. Even if she overcomes this hurdle and Trump is ineligible to run for president under the Republican ticket, she may not be the one to face Biden. “If Trump’s legal issues or anything else became an insurmountable obstacle to continuing in the race, Republicans at this point would introduce somebody who’s acceptable to Trump, and they’d resolve it at the convention or in some extraordinary way,” states Hanley.
Nikki Haley seemed to have a good deck of cards in her hands for a while and even a decent poker face. She had some mishaps, but it didn’t necessarily affect her general performance. The game was rigged from the start, giving her no real chance of winning. “Haley is not going to be the [Republican] nominee. I think that we can say that confidently,” Dr. Hanley states. According to Hanley, “she would not have the same level of support that Trump enjoys among Latinos, African Americans, and blue-collar whites.” No matter how much she tries to rally Republicans for her cause by bashing Trump or holding idyllic views, her efforts are fruitless. The former president has too much of an iron grip on the conservative movement, and not even “the little one” can change that.