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Nikki Haley hasn't yet won a GOP contest. But she's vowing to keep fighting Donald Trump

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Greenville, S.C. -

There are no wins on the horizon for Nikki Haley.

Those close to the former United Nations ambassador, the last major Republican candidate standing in Donald Trump's path to the GOP's 2024 presidential nomination, are privately bracing for a blowout loss in her home state's primary election in South Carolina on Saturday. And they cannot name a state where she is likely to beat Trump in the coming weeks.

But in an emotional address on Tuesday, Haley declared, 鈥淚 refuse to quit.鈥

And in an interview, she vowed to stay in the fight against Trump at least until after Super Tuesday鈥檚 slate of more than a dozen contests on Mar. 5 鈥 even if she suffers a big loss in her home state Saturday.

鈥淭en days after South Carolina, another 20 states vote. I mean, this isn鈥檛 Russia. We don鈥檛 want someone to go in and just get 99 per cent of the vote,鈥 Haley told The Associated Press. 鈥淲hat is the rush? Why is everybody so panicked about me having to get out of this race?鈥

In fact, some Republicans are encouraging Haley to stay in the campaign even if she continues to lose 鈥 potentially all the way to the Republican National Convention in July in the event the 77-year-old former president, perhaps the most volatile major party front-runner in U.S. history, becomes a convicted felon or stumbles into another major scandal.

As Trump's 鈥淢ake America Great Again鈥 movement presses for her exit, a defiant Haley on Tuesday repeatedly likened Trump to Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden 鈥攁nd both as too old, too divisive and too unpopular to be the only options for voters this fall.

She also pushed back when asked if there is any primary state where she can defeat Trump.

鈥淚nstead of asking me what states I'm gonna win, why don't we ask how he's gonna win a general election after spending a full year in a courtroom?鈥

Haley's hurdles

History would suggest Haley has no chance of stopping Trump.

Never before has a Republican lost even the first two primary contests, as Haley has by an average of 21 points, and gone on the win the party's presidential nomination. Polls suggest she is a major underdog in her home state on Saturday and in the 16 Super Tuesday contests to follow. And since he announced his first presidential bid in 2015, every effort by a Republican to blunt Trump's rise has failed.

Yet she is leaning into the fight.

Lest anyone question her commitment, Haley's campaign is spending more than US$500,000 on a new television advertising campaign set to begin running Wednesday in Michigan ahead of the state's Feb. 27 primary, according to spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas. At the same time, the AP has obtained Haley's post-South Carolina travel schedule that features 11 separate stops in seven days across Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado, Utah, Virginia, Washington, D.C., North Carolina and Massachusetts.

The schedule also includes at least 10 high-dollar private fundraising events.

Indeed, Haley's expansive base of big- and small-dollar donors is donating at an extraordinary pace despite her underwhelming performance at the polls. That's a reflection of persistent Republican fears about Trump's ability to win over independents and moderate voters in the general election and serious concerns about his turbulent leadership should he return to the White House.

鈥淚鈥檓 going to support her up to the convention,鈥 said Republican donor Eric Levine, who co-hosted a New York fundraiser for Haley earlier this month. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not prepared to fold our tents and pray at the altar of Donald Trump.鈥

鈥淭here鈥檚 value in her sticking in and gathering delegates, because if and when he stumbles,鈥 Levine continued, 鈥渨ho knows what happens.鈥

Levine is far from alone.

Haley's campaign raised US$5 million in a fundraising swing after her second-place finish in New Hampshire that included stops in Texas, Florida, New York, and California, Perez-Cubas said. Her campaign raised US$16.5 million in January alone 鈥 her best fundraising month ever.

The lone member of Congress who has endorsed Haley, Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., acknowledged that it may be difficult to win South Carolina, a state where she lives and served two terms as governor.

鈥淥bviously, you want to win them all, but for those who say it鈥檚 going to embarrass her, or end her political career, I disagree. She鈥檚 willing to take that risk,鈥 Norman said in an interview. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a courageous thing she鈥檚 doing.鈥

Moving forward, Haley鈥檚 team is especially focused on several Super Tuesday states with open or semi-open Republican primaries that allows a broader collection of voters to participate 鈥 especially independents and moderates 鈥 instead of just hardcore conservatives.

Trump not happy

Trump, in recent days, has shown flashes of fury in response to Haley鈥檚 refusal to cede the nomination.

He called her 鈥渟tupid鈥 and 鈥渂irdbrain鈥 in a social media post over the weekend as part of a sustained campaign of personal insults. Some primary voters said Trump crossed the line earlier in the month when he highlighted the absence of Haley's husband, Michael, who is in the midst of a yearlong stint with the South Carolina Army National Guard to Africa.

In a rare show of emotion, Haley acknowledged the personal toll on her family.

鈥淚t was hard for us to say goodbye to him the first time when he deployed to Afghanistan. It was even harder last summer when he deployed to Africa,鈥 she said with glassy eyes, her voice cracking.

Ahead of the speech, Trump's campaign released a memo predicting that Haley would be forced out of the race after losing her home state Saturday.

鈥淭he true 鈥楽tate鈥 of Nikki Haley鈥檚 campaign?鈥 Trump鈥檚 campaign chiefs wrote. 鈥淏roken down, out of ideas, out of gas, and completely outperformed by every measure, by Donald Trump.鈥

Eager to pivot toward a general election matchup against Biden, the Republican former president is also taking aggressive steps to assume control of the Republican National Committee, the GOP's nationwide political machine, which is supposed to stay neutral in presidential primary elections. Last week, Trump announced plans to install his campaign's senior adviser Chris LaCivita, as RNC's chief operating officer and daughter-in-law Lara Trump as the committee's co-chair.

And there is every expectation that current Chair Ronna McDaniel will step down after Trump wins South Carolina's primary and party officials will ultimately acquiesce to Trump's wishes. Privately, Haley's team concedes there is nothing it can do to stop the Trump takeover.

Speaking in South Carolina on Tuesday, Haley said she has 鈥渘o fear of Trump鈥檚 retribution.鈥

"I feel no need to kiss the ring,鈥 she said. "My own political future is of zero concern.鈥

Haley, in the interview, also warned her party against letting Trump raid the RNC's coffers to pay for his legal fees while taking a short-term view of Trump's political prospects.

Trump's standing will fundamentally change if he is a convicted felon before Election Day, Haley said, acknowledging that such an outcome is a very real possibility as Trump navigates 91 felony charges across four separate criminal cases.

鈥淧eople are not looking six months down the road when these court cases have taken place,鈥 Haley said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 going to be in a courtroom all of March, April, May and June. How in the world do you win a general election when these cases keep going and the judgments keep coming?鈥

Meanwhile, Biden was asked as he departed the White House on Tuesday whether he preferred to go up against Haley or Trump this fall.

鈥淥h, I don鈥檛 care,鈥 the president said.

Peoples reported from Kiawah Island, South Carolina. AP writers Seung Min Kim in Washington and Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed.

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