So much has happened since former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley suspended her campaign for president that many people forgot she was ever in the picture.
But, on Tuesday, people were reminded that Haley was the last person standing next to presumptive GOP candidate Donald Trump, as she still garnered more than 100,000 votes during a state’s primary.
In Indiana’s GOP primary elections, which were held this week, Haley received more than 128,000 votes, according to results that are compiled by Decision Desk HQ. This comes even though Haley suspended her bid for the White House almost two months ago.
Haley was never really a threat to Trump in Indiana, as the former president garnered 78.3% of the total vote there. However, the fact that Haley somehow still got 21.7% of the total vote could raise some red flags for the Trump campaign.
Indiana isn’t the first state in which Haley has received votes even after dropping out of the race. Just last month, Haley received more than 150,000 votes in Pennsylvania’s GOP primary election.
What this shows is that there is at least a decent portion of Republican voters who aren’t pleased with Trump as their candidate. Whether that ends up being a problem for him at the polls come November — especially in swing states such as Pennsylvania — remains to be seen.
When Haley delivered her official campaign suspension speech in March, she wouldn’t endorse Trump like the previous candidates who dropped out did. What she said instead was that it would be up to Trump to “earn the votes” of her supporters.
As she said then:
“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. At its best, politics is about bringing people into your cause, not turning them away. And our conservative cause badly needs more people. This is now his time for choosing.”
Once Haley suspended her campaign, President Joe Biden’s campaign started immediately trying to woo Haley supporters over to his cause, rather than to Trump. As the president said at the time:
“Donald Trump made it clear he doesn’t want Nikki Haley supporters. I want to be clear: There is a place for them in my campaign.”
Earlier in the year, the Biden campaign released an advertisement that showed clips of Trump criticizing Haley during the GOP primary fight. The ad then warns:
“If you voted for Nikki Haley, Donald Trump doesn’t want your vote.”
In April, Haley announced that she would be joining the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank, as its Walter P. Stern chair. In a statement, Haley said:
“When our policymakers fail to call out our enemies or acknowledge the importance of our alliances, the world is less safe. That is why Hudson’s work is so critical.
“They believe the American people should have the facts and policymakers should have the solutions to support a secure, free and prosperous future. I look forward to partnering with them to defend the principles that make America the greatest country in the world.”