Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Sunday claimed the 2022 midterms will make or break Republicans, arguing that if the GOP doesn’t win back Congress, “there won’t be 2024.”
“If we don’t win in 2022, there won’t be a 2024,” said Haley, a Republican, during a Fox News appearance on Sunday. “So we need to stay humble, disciplined, and win that.”
Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, did not elaborate.
The party of the president historically tends to lose congressional seats in the forthcoming midterm elections. Democrats currently hold slim majorities in both the Senate and the House.
Republicans in June indicated they are targeting around 75 House seats currently held by Democrats or have been newly created.
“Right now, the political environment is downright toxic for Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and House Democrats,” the National Republican Congressional Committee said at the time. “History shows the president’s party loses an average of 27 seats in the midterms, and that number jumps to 37 when the president’s approval rating is below 50,” it added.
An overwhelming majority of voters who were polled believe the country is headed in the wrong direction amid inflation and other economic concerns. Democrats in recent weeks have focused on promoting abortion access following the Supreme Court’s historic decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Also in the interview, Haley said she would consider her own chances of running for office in 2024 following the conclusion of the midterms. She cited some cultural issues and foreign policy concerns in reasoning why she is opposed to President Joe Biden.
“If there’s a place for me, I’ve never lost a race, I’m not going to start now,” Haley said. “We will see what happens and we will go forward, but we need to get America strong again. We need to start focusing on our foreign policy in a way we haven’t done in a while and we are going to need to focus on over the next 20 years.”
Her comments came as Republicans on Friday unanimously chose Milwaukee in swing state Wisconsin for the 2024 national convention.
“We recognize that there’s a history there, that voters are very in tune. Retail is key to winning the nomination in both of those states … we are very proud to have kept our calendar the same,” McDaniel told Fox News Friday. “I hope that people in those states recognize that the Democrats just walked away from their states.”
