Could Nikki Haley change to a third-party candidate? | EUROtoday

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Struggling 2024 Republican candidate Nikki Haley has to date seen just one major victory to date — and she or he might have discovered an answer to keep away from future major losses: working as a third-party candidate.

The former UN ambassador is the last-standing GOP rival in opposition to outstanding frontrunner Donald Trump, who has swept each one in every of his occasion’s caucus or major to date — excluding Washington, DC, which was Ms Haley’s first 2024 victory.

With every major loss propelling her farther from changing into her occasion’s nominee, hypothesis has grown round whether or not Ms Haley could be open to a third-party bid.

The political organisation No Labels has indicated that it will take into account placing Ms Haley as a candidate for its third-party ticket, assuming she was . The group’s nationwide director Joe Cunningham informed Fox News final month that the previous South Carolina governor is “somebody we’d definitely be interested in.”

“We’re looking for great quality people, folks that have broad appeal to independents, Democrats, Republicans,” he stated.

However, Ms Haley has beforehand dismissed the concept of working as a third-party candidate, emphasising her agency place within the Republican occasion. “All the talk about the independent No Labels, all that — I haven’t talked to anybody about that,” Ms Haley stated over the weekend. “I know that they have sent smoke signals, but I’m a Republican.”

“I’m trying to really talk about a way forward for Republicans,” she added.

The former South Carolina governor continued, “If I were to do No Labels, that would require a Democrat vice president.”

A run as a third-party candidate might be an fascinating transfer as increasingly Americans appear exhausted by the prospect of one other Joe Biden-Donald Trump rematch.

More than half of Americans stated they’d be “dissatisfied” if President Biden and Mr Trump have been their occasion’s nominees.

Age can also be an element. In a ballot this week, a majority of voters – 73 per cent – say the president, 81, is just too previous to be an efficient president, whereas 42 per cent say the identical concerning the former president, 77.

Ms Haley, 52, has made remarks concerning the frontrunners’ ages all through her time on the marketing campaign path.

Last month, she posted on X: “We all know 80-year-olds who can run circles around us … and then we know Trump and Biden. We need a president who has the focus and stamina to deal with all the challenges facing our country.”

Launching a third-party candidacy hypothetically may lead to some Nikki Haley supporters ditching the Republican occasion and voting for her as a substitute, thereby reducing into Mr Trump’s numbers. But that actuality stays to be seen.

The rising hypothesis round her potential third-party bid falls simply forward of Super Tuesday, on 5 March, when 15 states are holding GOP nominating contests.

“You’ve only had three or four states that have voted up until now,” Ms Haley stated on 3 March. “We’re a big country and we want everybody to feel like they had the opportunity to vote for someone and not against someone.”

The former UN ambassador additionally vowed to remain within the race so long as she’s “competitive.”