Former President Donald Trump has been lining up endorsements following his victory in the Iowa Caucuses, but two in particular are significantly undermining Nikki Haley in her home state.
This weekend South Carolina GOP congresswoman Nancy Mace joined Tim Scott, the senator from South Carolina, to back the former president.
The Associated Press detailed:
Mace had stayed out of the 2024 Republican primary as two fellow South Carolinians — former Gov. Haley and Sen. Tim Scott — entered the race last year. On Monday, a day ahead of the New Hampshire primary, Mace told The Associated Press that she was backing Trump over Haley, who lives in her congressional district and supported her in 2022 against a Trump-backed challenger.
“I don’t see eye to eye perfectly with any candidate. And until now I’ve stayed out of it,” Mace said. “But the time has come to unite behind our nominee.”
The South Carolina Republican’s backing comes as Trump angles to bolster his dominance thus far in Republican balloting, following his record-setting win last week in the Iowa caucuses. Over the weekend, Trump was joined by a slew of South Carolina leaders as he campaigned in New Hampshire, seen as yet another blow from South Carolina against Haley.
Rep. Nancy Mace’s decision shocked many in GOP circles. A few days after the events took place at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, Mace dismissed Trump by saying that his legacy had been “wiped out.”
Former Governor Nikki Haley was questioned why none of her fellow South Carolinians were supporting her White House bid. She raised eyebrows by claiming many people from her state were not impressed with her tenure as governor.
After a campaign stop, Haley said, “I forced them to pass ethics reform, even though they didn’t want to do it. So there is a reason there’s no love for me, from the legislature in South Carolina.”
Haley’s endorsement list in her home state is fairly thin. She’s received only 14 legislative endorsements in her quest for the White House, whereas Ron DeSantis, who dropped out over the weekend, claimed over 70.
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