Before the South Carolina Primary in her home state, GOP presidential hopeful Nikki Haley made her last pitch to the voters in Mount Pleasant on Friday. She attacked her main rival Donald Trump and claimed that she was the only one who could beat President Biden in the general election.
The former governor of South Carolina, said to the crowd, “The best America can do is two candidates in their 80s?” She was referring to Trump, who is 77, and Biden, who is 81.
‘No drama, no vendettas’ : Haley
“We need someone who can do eight years of hard work day and night, getting the job done for the American people. No drama, no vendettas,” she added.
According to the latest polls, Haley is trailing Trump by 28 points in South Carolina. But her campaign manager Betsy Ankney said in a call with reporters on Friday morning that Haley would not give up and would fight on until Super Tuesday.
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Ankney stated, “As we look to the path ahead, we know that this is an uphill battle. We know that the road is difficult. We know that the math is challenging, but this has never just been about who can win a Republican primary — this battle is about who can win in November, defeat the Democrats and finally get our country back on track.”
{{/usCountry}}Ankney stated, “As we look to the path ahead, we know that this is an uphill battle. We know that the road is difficult. We know that the math is challenging, but this has never just been about who can win a Republican primary — this battle is about who can win in November, defeat the Democrats and finally get our country back on track.”
{{/usCountry}}“We have never gotten [into] those benchmarks. We won’t start now. Once again, she made very clear in her speech on Tuesday that we are marching on and that’s what we intend to do,” she continued.
Some of Haley’s supporters in South Carolina said that they wanted Haley to stay in the race in case something happened to Trump, such as getting “locked up” or having a health issue. But they also admitted that they did not expect her to win.
Haley rejects Phillips’ offer
Meanwhile, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who is challenging Biden for the Democratic nomination, said on Friday that he was open to the idea of running as an independent with Haley as his running mate.
He said, “I think it’s a conversation that Ambassador Haley and I should have if that’s what this comes down to.” Phillips had a strong showing in New Hampshire, where he got more than 20% of the vote and Biden was not on the ballot.
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Haley’s campaign rejected the possibility of joining forces with Phillips.
Haley reiterated on Tuesday that she was not quitting the race and that she was looking forward to campaigning in multiple states before the March 5 contest.