Former Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile said Sunday that Nikki Haley, the only remaining chief challenger to former President Trump for the GOP nomination, should stay in the race.
In a panel on ABC News’s “This Week,” Brazile highlighted the gender discrepancy amid increased calls for Haley to step aside, and she noted Haley is not that far behind for total delegates.
“I mean, look, let’s go back to Iowa. Only 15 percent of registered Republicans showed up, and we know Trump won by over 50 percent, but he’s not really showing any growth in independents or even moderate Republicans,” Brazile said.
“So yeah, there’s a lot that Haley must do. She must campaign, do a lot of retail politics. But don’t forget Donald Trump has only earned 32 delegates, he needs 1,215 in order to secure the nomination. She’s earned 17, so she’s 15 delegates down,” Brazile added.
In the Iowa caucuses, Haley secured 8 delegates and Trump secured 20. In New Hampshire, Haley secured 9 delegates and Trump secured 12. Whichever candidate reaches 1,215 delegates is the presumptive nominee until the party’s nominating convention in July when it becomes official.
“So here’s the point. Haley should stay in it. We don’t ask a man to leave after he’s accrued a couple delegates,” Brazile said.
Lawmakers have been increasingly falling in line to endorse Trump as the presidential field winnows. Recently, the Republican National Committee even considered bringing a resolution declaring Trump the party’s presumptive nominee.
Trump, in his speech after winning New Hampshire, also put pressure on Haley to drop out of the race. In a recent post on social media, Trump said anyone who contributes to Haley’s campaign would be “permanently barred from the MAGA camp.”
While only two states have held their nominating contests so far, Trump leads by double digits in virtually every national poll and has for months. Haley’s critics also say New Hampshire, where independents and nonaffiliated voters party can choose which party’s primary to participate in, would have been Haley’s strongest chance at gaining traction over Trump.
Trump still holds a dominant lead over Haley, according to the national polling average by The Hill/Decision Desk HQ. Trump leads by about 56.8 percentage points, with 70.7 percent support to Haley’s 13.9 percent in hypothetical GOP primary polls.