More than two weeks after suspending her campaign, former presidential candidate Nikki Haley continues to garner hundreds of thousands of Republican primary votes as more states go to the polls.
When five states held their primaries Tuesday in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas and Ohio, Haley came away with more than half a million votes.
Last week, more than 240,000 voters voted for her in the March 12 primaries, a week after she dropped out of the presidential race.
This comes even as the general election matchup is set: President Joe Biden versus former President Donald Trump.
Both candidates reached enough delegates to secure their party’s nomination more than a week ago, but as they look toward the November election, Haley’s voters could play a major role, and we don’t know exactly where they will go.
Nikki Haley received more than half a million votes in the March 19 primary, despite dropping out two weeks ago.
An election worker prepares voting booths in Florida ahead of the March 19 primaries. More than 155,000 Floridians voted for Haley in the state’s Republican primary. In Arizona, more than 108,000 people voted for Haley in this battleground state
As of Tuesday, Haley received more than 108,000 votes in Arizona, or 18 percent, with more than 20 percent in the suburbs around Phoenix and Tucson.
The state is a crucial battleground that Trump lost in 2020 by just over 10,000 votes.
Haley also received 161,000 votes in Ohio, or 14 percent, on Tuesday, and another 155,000 in Florida, Trump’s home state.
Exit polls in Ohio showed eight in 10 Haley voters said they would not vote for Trump in November.
In Kansas, Haley received 16% of the vote, doing better in the suburbs of Kansas City and Wichita, areas that helped Democrats reject a 2022 abortion amendment.
Even though Trump dominated overall, it’s the margins in battleground states that will play a big role in the general election and that’s where Democrats have been eyeing Haley voters to help propel Biden to victory .
On the ground throughout the primary season, some Haley Republican voters told DailyMail.com they would “hold their noses” and vote for Trump in November, but others vowed they would not vote for him even if he was the Republican candidate, which he did. has since obtained.
According to veteran Republican strategist Ed Rollins, it will be a dogfight between Trump and Biden until November.
“If I was running the campaign, I wouldn’t be freaking out about Haley’s vote, but I would be doing everything I can to try to get them back,” Rollins told DailyMail.com of the Trump campaign.
The general calculation for the November election is that a candidate must consolidate 90 percent of his base and more than 50 percent independents.
Rollins noted that Trump doesn’t yet have 90 percent of his base, but he’s getting close.
Biden campaigning in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 19 as he prepares for a rematch with Trump
Trump speaking to reporters after voting in the Florida primary on March 19
It’s no wonder Biden’s campaign immediately welcomed Haley’s voters after he exited the race, a constituency that could prove crucial for him as he trails Trump in a series field surveys.
Haley refused to support Trump when she dropped out. Instead, she said he needed to earn the votes of his supporters.
Since then, Trump has tried to court Haley’s voters by inviting them to “join the greatest movement in our nation’s history” on social media, but he also previously posted that any of his donors would be “permanently banned from the MAGA camp”.
Other groups have also set their sights on Haley voters ahead of November.
Republican Voters Against Trump are holding weekly focus groups and running a $50 million campaign this election cycle in key states.
The campaign launched a few weeks ago is based on testimonies from former Trump supporters who will not vote for him in 2024.
John Conway, director of strategy, found that there is a mix when it comes to Haley’s voters, some rejected Trump in 2020 but others voted for him twice before.
“Donald Trump has become even more extreme since 2020. Voters were able to vote for him in November 2020 and then on January 6,” Conway said. “So every day, another Never Trumper is born. Each voter has a different background.
He acknowledged that some Haley voters will return to the GOP fold in November, but his group is focused on shrinking the Trump coalition in the rematch with Biden.
The group’s accounts include Republicans who will vote for Biden, but some of their Republican voters are looking for a third option or might stay home.
“Joe Biden obviously won all of these swing states in 2020. He needs to win them again in 2024,” Conway said. “If two-time Trump voters or 2020 Trump voters don’t participate in the race, that helps Joe Biden tremendously. That’s one less vote for Donald Trump.