When the first 2024 Republican debate started on Wednesday, the visual of the stage was striking: On it were seven men clad in dark suits and red ties, and one woman — former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley — wearing a white and blue boucle dress. Her gender immediately stood out, and during the debate Haley leveraged this distinction as an asset.
“I think this is exactly why Margaret Thatcher said if you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman,” Haley quipped at one point following a prolonged exchange of personal insults between former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. (Among other things, Christie said Ramaswamy sounded “like ChatGPT” in human form, while Ramaswamy accused Christie of hugging former President Barack Obama.) In that comment, and others, Haley leaned into her gender as a unique selling point when it came to her leadership style, and as a factor in how she discusses policies like abortion.
It was a notable move given how reluctant Republicans have been to embrace what they call identity politics — or to even admit that race and gender can affect how you approach policy. The GOP has long called identity politics divisive, and argued that it falsely suggests that different groups can have unique experiences and be marginalized.
Although Haley’s strategy may not appeal to the segment of Republican voters who still hold sexist views, it, along with slightly more moderate policy positions, could resonate with moderate women voters who turned away from Trump — and the GOP — in 2020. Haley stressed Wednesday that she believes she’s uniquely equipped to win back those voters, arguing that because of his past actions and policies, “Trump is the most disliked politician in America. We cannot win a general election that way.”
According to a focus group Navigator Research conducted with 33 independent Wisconsin voters after the debate, 45 percent said they…
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