I’ve seen enough. As of publication, former President Donald Trump is already the projected winner for Super Tuesday GOP primary elections in Colorado, Massachusetts, Texas, Alabama, Maine, Arkansas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Virginia, NBC reports, sealing his status as the Republican Party nominee for the November presidential election.
We knew Trump would “win” Super Tuesday since the moment he announced his 2024 presidential run in November 2022 — almost a year earlier than everyone else in the GOP primary field. Trump assumed, just like the rest of the Republican Party, that the nomination was his for the taking. And it largely was, what with the other candidates running as faint mimeographs in his orbit. But somewhat surprisingly, it wasn’t the cakewalk Trump expected.
Despite facing unprecedented efforts to clear the primary field — including Trump and President Joe Biden changing the primary schedule and Trump’s ongoing emphasis on installing loyalists — former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has continued on. It was one of the things Trump world feared most: Haley harnessed the “never Trump” vote. And while it wasn’t enough to win, it was enough to show that Trump has a general election problem.
Despite never having a chance at winning, Haley’s quest quickly became quixotic, exposing cracks in Trump’s election strategy and structure.
Despite never having a chance at winning, Haley’s quest quickly became quixotic, exposing cracks in Trump’s election strategy and structure. After all, Trump has always run on appealing to the GOP base’s basest nature. He won by shifting the electorate, getting traditionally low-turnout voters to vote for him. If that base’s enthusiasm falters even a little bit, that alone could be enough for Biden to hold on to the presidency.
Haley showed us that there are real fractures not only in Trump’s strategy, but in the GOP primary base. Per The Associated Press, “According to AP VoteCast surveys…
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