Haley Vows To Push On, Koch Brothers Pull Funding

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC–Donald Trump tightened his grip on the Republican nomination for the White House defeating Nikki Haley, the only other candidate in the field, by a crushing margin in her home state of South Carolina in the primaries. But he did not achieve what he wants so desperately now — end this race and pivot to the race against his general election rival President Joe Biden.

Haley made clear in her speech; she is not giving up. “I said earlier this week that no matter what happens in South Carolina, I would continue to run. I’m a woman of my word,” she said. “I’m not giving up this fight when a majority of Americans disapprove of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden.”

But the conservative Americans for Prosperity super PAC backed by the powerful Koch donor network announced after the primary that it will no longer line her campaign coffers. It however added that it “wholeheartedly” supports Haley’s plan to keep campaigning and continues to endorse her.

In a statement, Haley’s campaign called AFP an “ally in the fight for freedom and conservative government,” also saying, “we have plenty of fuel to keep going.”

South Carolina was touted as a make-or-break contest for Haley being her home state, where she was born, raised and became a politician and two-term Governor. A defeat in the home state would be fatal to her campaign, it was said. And acutely conscious of the talk, Haley had said before that she would stay in the race no matter what happened.

Trump has taken an unassailable lead in the Republican primaries and is all but certain to be the Republican nominee unless he is convicted in some of the criminal cases going on against him. His exit from the race, if it comes to that, will throw the race into a tizzy. If Haley is still around at that stage, she could stake claim to the nomination as the only candidate standing, but the party may want to go with someone else. (with IANS inputs.)