On paper, Nikki Haley deserved to be seen as the ideal presidential candidate for the Republican Party. She had domestic policy experience as a twice-elected red-state governor and former state legislator. She also had foreign policy experience as the United States’ ambassador to the United Nations. Haley could also boast about an impressive electoral record: “I’ve never lost a race,” the South Carolinian has bragged many times.
What’s more, Haley, who recently turned 52, is a relatively young woman from an immigrant family, which seemed likely to help broaden her general election appeal.
Just as importantly, Haley could claim some connection to Donald Trump — she was a prominent member of the former president’s team — without having been tarnished by his many scandals and alleged crimes.
Over the course of her presidential candidacy, the Republican also proved herself an adept White House hopeful, excelling in debates and raising millions. All the while, multiple polls suggested she was well positioned to defeat incumbent President Joe Biden in a head-to-head match-up.
The trouble is, GOP voters considered these details — and didn’t care.
Haley lost nearly every primary and caucus she competed in, and the morning after coming up far short in Super Tuesday contests, she exited the race. In a statement announcing the suspension of her candidacy, Haley said:
“I am filled with gratitude for the outpouring of support we’ve received from across our great country. But the time has now come to suspend my campaign. I said I wanted Americans to have their voices heard. I have done that. I have no regrets. And although I will no longer be a candidate, I will not stop using my voice for the things I believe in.”
She did not immediately endorse her party’s apparent nominee.
“It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him, and I hope he does that,” Haley’s statement said, adding, “This is now his time for choosing.”
Just as this statement reached the public, the former president issued a statement of his own, celebrating the fact that Haley “got TROUNCED last night.” Trump went on to accuse the former ambassador of getting “much” of her support “from Radical Left Democrats.”
Biden chose a different tack. “It takes a lot of courage to run for President — that’s especially true in today’s Republican Party, where so few dare to speak the truth about Donald Trump,” the Democratic incumbent said. “Nikki Haley was willing to speak the truth about Trump: about the chaos that always follows him, about his inability to see right from wrong, about his cowering before Vladimir Putin.”
Biden’s statement added, “Donald Trump made it clear he doesn’t want Nikki Haley’s supporters. I want to be clear: There is a place for them in my campaign. I know there is a lot we won’t agree on. But on the fundamental issues of preserving American democracy, on standing up for the rule of law, on treating each other with decency and dignity and respect, on preserving NATO and standing up to America’s adversaries, I hope and believe we can find common ground.” The tonal difference between Biden’s and Trump’s statements was unsubtle. Nevertheless, as the dust settles on the GOP’s presidential nominating contest, an old cliché about “Seinfeld” comes to mind: It was a race about nothing. No meaningful debates that captured voters’ attention. No big questions demanding answers. No grand ideas or bold proposals. It was a contest in which Trump started as the frontrunner, faced rivals who spent months afraid to go after him in earnest, and won nearly every intraparty race. Brendan Buck, an MSNBC political analyst and former aide to two former Republican House speakers, wrote, “As the candidates preached about the high stakes of November’s election, Republican voters were offered little more than a charade.” Now, that charade is over.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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