Ms. Haley is trying to attract independent and moderate voters, as well as increase criticism of Trump in the hope of not having to end her campaign in her home state of South Carolina.
When Nikki Haley announced her presidential bid nearly a year ago, former President Donald Trump appeared to be on the back foot in the Republican Party and her home state of South Carolina was seen as a strong asset.
But the state where she served two terms as governor is potentially the end of Haley’s campaign. Trump has won back-to-back primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire, with more than 50 percent of the vote. South Carolina will be the next Republican primary in late February.
Haley is aiming to surpass the 43 percent mark she won in the New Hampshire primary last month, and she said she needs to continue to build on that in the races ahead.
Polls show the former South Carolina governor is well below the state's polling average of 32%, compared to 63% for Mr Trump.
A recent Washington Post-Monmouth University poll found that Republican primary voters in South Carolina began to turn against her after Haley became more vocal in her criticism of Trump.
Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks at a campaign event in Conway, South Carolina on January 28. Photo: AP
The former US ambassador’s best hope of avoiding a painful defeat at home is to appeal to the large number of moderate and independent voters who do not want to see Mr Trump as the Republican nominee.
"I would be thrilled if we got the independent vote. I'm trying to get all of them," Haley said at an event in South Carolina last month.
She then criticized the Republican Party for isolating itself. "That's the problem with the Republican Party. They push people away. They tell voters that if you don't like us, you're not allowed to be around us. That's why they lose votes for the presidential candidate," she said.
Haley appears to have won over some South Carolina voters. Bill Adams, a 78-year-old retired businessman who voted for her twice for governor and Trump twice for president, said he would likely vote for Haley.
However, he wants to wait and see how things develop before the primaries. “A lot can happen in that time,” he said.
Pam Nester, a 53-year-old real estate executive in Camden, South Carolina, said she plans to support Haley despite voting for Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 elections. "She's more stable and rational," Nester said of Haley.
However, Mr Trump's base of support in the state is very solid.
"We appreciate what she's done for the state. But she's not ready to be president," said Tommy Zombik, a 65-year-old business owner who attended Haley's event in Hilton Head.
Zombik said he did not believe polls suggested Haley would be a stronger candidate than Democratic President Joe Biden. But Trump was a potential candidate for the job.
"They dealt Trump fatal blows, but he still rose," he said.
David Urban, a former adviser to Mr Trump, said Ms Haley's presence on the campaign trail was a distraction, a waste of resources and a source of discontent for Republicans.
"Nobody on the Trump campaign thinks that running against Biden will be easy. It's going to be a very tough and difficult road. Everyone needs to come together and fight together. But that's not possible now that she's trying to stoke the anti-Trump fire," Urban said.
Despite the two early losses, Haley is optimistic that the Republican primary is just getting started. In addition to Iowa and New Hampshire, the primary will move through 48 other states before culminating in the Republican National Convention in July.
"I'm not going to give up. We have a lot of room to run. And I'm determined to see this through to the end. I'm going to keep going, as long as we can keep closing the gap," Haley said last week.
Such comments have increasingly angered Mr Trump as the former president looks to win the primary quickly to focus on his run against Mr Biden. In a social media post last week, Mr Trump said that “Nikki Haley is being bought by our political opponents”. In another post, the former president asserted that a growing number of Americans “don’t like Haley”.
Before her defeats in Iowa and New Hampshire, Haley had never lost an election. When she ran for governor of South Carolina in 2020, Haley easily defeated her opponents to win.
“She’s determined to do it, like a gambler who goes all in,” said Ralph Norman, the state’s only Republican senator who endorsed Haley.
The former South Carolina governor has been a strong fundraiser since becoming Mr Trump’s final hurdle in the race, but observers warn that could slow down if she doesn’t perform well in South Carolina. Ms Haley will also need a huge financial cushion to compete fiercely with Mr Trump on March 5, when 16 states vote simultaneously in primary elections.
Norman predicts Haley will do well in South Carolina, but not beat Trump. A win in South Carolina would be a new milestone in Trump’s bid for the nomination. Since 1980, the winner of the state has gone on to become the Republican nominee.
Many independents and Democrats showed up at Haley's events late last month. "I don't want to vote for Trump or Biden. It's time for a woman to step up, when the men have failed," said Terry MacKenzie, a Democratic voter at the Hilton Head event.
Former President Donald Trump (center) with his core aides in Des Moines, Iowa, January 15. Photo: Reuters
Many believe Haley still has a chance. Katon Dawson, a former South Carolina Republican Party chairman who endorsed Haley, said the state’s rapid population growth means there are about 400,000 more registered voters than when Haley was governor in 2016. Many of them come from less conservative northern states.
"We have to see if we can win them over, but we believe we can. We will win enough independents to win any race," Dawson said.
Ms Haley described Mr Trump as too old to carry the burden of the presidency, as well as being unable to win a face-off with the Democratic candidate and being affected by the prosecution. She blamed the former president for the current state of American politics.
“He made it chaotic,” she said.
BJ Hopper, 81, a self-described “never Trump” supporter, doesn’t believe Haley will defeat the former president. But she attended Haley’s campaign event last week and hopes the former ambassador wins the upcoming state primary.
“It would be magical,” Hopper said.
Thanh Tam (According to WSJ, AP, USA Today )
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