“She Would Win the General Easily”: Nikki Haley’s Meteoric Rise in Polls Signals Floodgate Opening for Wealthy Donor Support

Michelle HollandNov 13, 2023

Minute Read

Republican presidential hopeful and former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley is gaining significant support as the GOP primaries approach. As the poll numbers rise, she has the potential to attract undecided wealthy donors who have so far not committed themselves to a candidate.

Who’s On the Table

Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, hedge fund titan Paul Singer, and stock brokerage firm Interactive Brokers founder Thomas Peterffy are among the heavyweights who have yet to pledge their allegiance to a particular candidate.

Haley’s Rising Star

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Haley is polling better by the day and is even on par in a new Iowa poll with fellow contender Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Former president Donald Trump is still leading both of them and remains the frontrunner overall nationwide.

Consideration for the Ex-Ambassador

Haley seems to have, at the very least, caught Ken Griffin’s eye. He recently said he currently had no horse in the race for the 2024 presidential election, but reportedly called Nikki Haley “a rockstar” while in a closed-door meeting with fellow business leaders.

Ditching DeSantis

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Though Thomas Peterffy was originally set on aiding DeSantis’ primary campaign, he was turned off by the governor’s anti-abortion stance, proclaiming that “Anyone I will support will have to undertake, whatever their personal belief, to protect individual rights to self-determination and that should include abortion.”

Haley’s Abortion Stance

Haley has shared that she considers herself “unapologetically pro-life, not because the Republican Party tells me, but because my husband was adopted, and I live with that blessing every day.” Unlike many members of her party, she has not called for a federal abortion ban but did pledge to sign one in May without confirming how many weeks this ban would encompass. In the debate, she asserted that abortion was a personal choice and laws should be left up to the state, emphasizing that a blanket federal ban would never pass in the Senate.

GOP Primary Debate

Following a poll run by the Washington Post, Nikki Haley was declared the winner of the latest debate between Republican primary candidates. Donald Trump, however, was not present for the evening.

Internet Reactions

Many people discussed Haley’s soaring popularity and debate performance on internet forums. “Haley can’t topple Trump,” one user insisted, “but she could stay in the race long enough for Trump to do it for her,” they added.

Only Chance of Success

Another person agreed, replying “I think that’s the only chance any of them have. Either from the legal troubles or something else, Trump completely implodes on his own, and the runner-up swoops in. I give it slim odds, but possible.”

Headed for Second Place

“Second place Nikki inbound?” one poster asked their fellow election followers. “Almost certainly. The real question is whether she’ll be able to topple Trump. Seems unlikely to me,” someone responded. “Unlikely, more like impossible,” a further responder disagreed.

Trump’s Huge Margins

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Several people noted that Trump currently maintains a dramatic lead in the party which will be supremely difficult to dismantle. “Trump won’t debate her, and he already has 60% of the party behind him. I don’t know what she could do to change that,” one forum member observed. Another suggested that her biggest hope is to simply “convince people he can’t win the general.”

Republican Values

“The problem is that the majority of GOP voters rate ‘represents my values’ higher than ‘electability’ in their hierarchy of priorities,” one contributor speculated, suggesting that the majority align better with Trump than Haley. “The majority of Republicans have no higher value than ‘hold power,’” someone else contended.

The Next Vice President?

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Some commenters wondered whether Haley could be the VP on Trump’s presidential ticket. “He’ll choose her as VP,” someone predicted. “That will placate the “serious,” “reasonable” Republican establishment, even though he’ll probably banish her to the White House basement after the inauguration.”

Mike Pence’s Replacement

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“I doubt it,” one person disagreed. “Trump doesn’t want another Mike Pence who will ditch him when he inevitably tries to overthrow democracy again. He’s gonna pick some loyalist nutter like MTG (Marjorie Taylor Greene) or Gaetz or Kari Lake.”

The X Consensus

One poster countered that “On Twitter (X), everyone was crowning Vivek. I have to say, obviously, I am not a fan of Trump, but I can see the charisma at some points. Vivek is just a headache when I hear him talk.”

The General Election

On Haley, one user theorized that “If somehow she won the nomination, she would win the general easily.” Another user hypothesized instead that it “depends on how and if Donald Trump is still alive. If he is and she doesn’t promise to pardon him then he’ll just burn the GOP down out of spite.”

Trump’s Absence at the Debate

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There was a lot of conversation about the fact that Trump opted to skip the debate. “I do think not being there is hurting Trump,” one contributor speculated. “He’s getting almost no air time this go around.”

A Wise Decision

“Nah. He doesn’t need airtime. He’s already taken up permanent residence in our brains,” a fellow poster debated. “Him being on stage would just show the viewers how old he’s gotten. He was well advised to stay out of it.” Others believed that Trump simply would’ve embarrassed himself or shown the cracks in his campaign if he had decided to partake in the primary debates.