Donald Trump won Michigan’s Republican primary, with Nikki Haley losing yet another 2024 contest. Trump’s victory comes after Haley lost in her home state, South Carolina. Haley, however, vowed to continue the fight.
The Haley campaign characterised the Michigan loss as a bad sign for Trump. It noted that about one-third of Republican primary voters cast ballots for someone other than the former president.
“Let this serve as another warning sign that what has happened in Michigan will continue to play out across the country,” Haley campaign national spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas said in a statement, according to NBC News. “So long as Donald Trump is at the top of the ticket, Republicans will keep losing to the socialist left. Our children deserve better.”
Before the Michigan winner was announced, Haley went on to defend her decision to stay in the race. “We’ve only seen a handful of states vote. I mean, look, I’ve said this before as much as the media wants to jump ahead, we’re taking this one state, one day at a time,” she told CNN’s Dana Bash.
‘We are in a ship with a hole in it’
Trump beat Haley in Iowa and New Hampshire, and in Nevada too, where Haley did not appear on the ballot. She was also beaten by Trump in the US Virgin Islands, before being defeated in South Carolina, and now in Michigan.
Haley also said Trump is responsible for recent Republican losses in Michigan. “We are in a ship with a hole in it, and we can either go down with the ship and watch the country go socialist left, or we can see that we need to take the life raft and move in a new direction,” Haley told CNN.
She added that “ever since Donald Trump became president, they’ve lost the governor’s mansion. They’ve lost the state House. They’ve lost the state Senate.”.
Haley said there are so many unenthusiastic Republican voters because the former president is unable to pull voters into the party. “You’re seeing the same thing, whether you look at all the early states — Donald Trump didn’t get 40% of any of the Republican primary vote. It is a problem,” Haley said. “He’s not bringing people into the party he’s pushing people out of the party.”
‘I’m not giving up this fight’
Haley previously vowed to remain in the race at least until Super Tuesday. As many as 15 states and one territory will vote on March 5. In almost all of the upcoming contests, Trump has a lead.
“I’m not giving up this fight when a majority of Americans disapprove of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” Haley previously said. “South Carolina has spoken. We’re the fourth state to do so. In the next ten days, another 21 states and territories will speak. They have the right to a real choice, not a Soviet-style election with only one candidate. And I have a duty to give them that choice.”
