Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley reacts as she talks about her husband, Major Michael Haley, currently deployed with the South Carolina National Guard, during a campaign stop at the Clemson University building in Greenville ONE ahead of the Republican presidential primary election in Greenville, South Carolina, United States, on February 20, 2024.
Alyssa Pointer | Reuters
Days before the Super Tuesday presidential primaries, former South Carolina governor and Republican candidate Nikki Haley said in an interview Sunday that she will continue in the race for the GOP nomination as long as it remains competitive.
In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Haley said she isn’t looking “too far ahead” when asked whether she would drop out of the race if she lost to front-runner and former President Donald Trump on Super Tuesday.
“As long as we are competitive, as long as we prove that there is a place for us, I will continue to fight,” Haley said.
After primary defeats in Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire, Haley trails Trump in the delegate standings, with just 27 delegates to 247 so far. However, Haley said those primaries only partially represent who Americans will vote for on Super Tuesday. Fifteen states and one territory will vote in primaries on Tuesday.
“There have only been three or four states that have voted so far,” Haley said. “We are a great country and we want everyone to feel like they have the opportunity to vote for someone and not against someone.”
Several Republican senators critical of Trump have endorsed Haley, including Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski as her state heads to the polls Tuesday.
In an interview with NBC News on Saturday, Murkowski said Haley is “a qualified, competent and capable leader at a time when the country needs them.”
Murkowski added that he refuses to “accept it [Trump and Biden are] my only two choices.”
When asked whether she would support a Trump nomination, Haley did not say unequivocally whether she is still bound by the Republican National Committee’s pledge to support the GOP nominee.
“No, I think I’ll make the decision I want, but it’s not something I’m thinking about,” Haley said, adding that the commitment was made at the time “to get on the debate stage.”