After a resounding series of losses on Super Tuesday, Nikki Haley announced she was suspending her campaign for president, locking in the Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden rematch that America was dreading. 

Despite surprisingly winning both Washington, D.C., and Vermont in the Republican primary, Haley’s deficit of delegates against Trump was too much to overcome in the race for the GOP nomination. 

Republican primary voters were too consumed by the promise of what they would call the glory years of Trump's presidency returning to truly evaluate Haley's campaign for what it was: our best chance at denying a second Biden term and retaking the White House.

The fact that Trump was able to win the GOP nomination while under four criminal indictments, refusing to step on a debate stage and still refusing to concede his last election serves as a testament to how strong his grip on the party base is. 

Unfortunately for the countless principled Republicans like myself, we cannot justify a vote for Trump, no matter how bad a Biden presidency has been. I find myself now in the middle of two candidates I view as severely damaging to the future of our country.

Nikki Haley lost Super Tuesday.Her voters still have a chance to be heroes and defeat Trump.

There is no doubt that Haley was better poised to win in a general election against Biden than Trump is. A poll released last month showed her beating Biden in a head-to-head election.

Haley also is far more palatable to centrists than both Trump and Biden and was even capable of capturing a significant portion of voters who favor Biden over Trump.

Haley was not my first choice for president, but she was far from my last. I certainly prefer her to Trump as the Republican nominee, and it's frustrating that the GOP base is entirely unconcerned with electability when selecting their candidate of choice. 

BDST: 0904 HRS, MAR 07, 2024
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