Ex-Obama Strategist Encourages ‘Tactical’ Liberal Support for Nikki Haley

Former U.N. ambassador and 2024 presidential hopeful Nikki Haley speaks at a campaign town hall event in Lebanon, N.H., on Dec. 28, 2023. Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Former President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign manager said that if Democrat and independent voters can stomach voting for GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley in their states’ primaries, it could help to subvert former President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential aspirations.

“I think it’s probably too distasteful for a lot of people. But for those who would be up for it, to do something tactically—I don’t know if it would stop Trump, but, you know, it could help extend the primary,” David Plouffe told MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes” on Jan. 3.

President Trump has remained the front-runner in the Republican primary contest since he announced his campaign more than a year ago. While his competitors have jockeyed for second place, he has maintained a significant lead over the rest of the field.

But in New Hampshire—the first primary on the Republican calendar—the 45th president has seen his lead diminish in recent polling that shows the former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador running a close second.

Noting this, Mr. Plouffe said that a Haley victory in the Granite State could help to narrow the field to a two-person race.

“I think, when you look out in the rest of the states, Trump’s clearly a dominant favorite,” he acknowledged. “But in a two-person race, there’s a healthy number of Republicans who are open to an alternative if she’s the only one. So, I think for liberals, or Democrats, or independents who might not ever support Nikki Haley to be the president to cast a strategic or tactical vote, to me, makes a lot of sense.”

A Unique Opportunity

New Hampshire’s presidential primaries, traditionally the “first in the nation,” are set for Jan. 23.

The state, like some others, allows undeclared voters to participate in the parties’ contests. And with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) refusing to acknowledge the state’s Democratic primary this year over a calendar dispute, the current climate could be conducive to the kind of “strategic” sabotage Mr. Plouffe is advocating for.

To start, President Joe Biden, siding with the DNC, did not file the necessary paperwork to appear on the New Hampshire primary ballot. Some Democrats in the state have signaled their intention to write in his name anyway, but according to Republican Secretary of State David Scanlan, thousands of others appear to have chosen a different path.

After the Oct. 6 deadline passed for voters to change their party affiliation, Mr. Scanlan reported that 3,542 Democrats had changed their affiliation to “undeclared,” per the New Hampshire Bulletin. An additional 408 Democrats switched their registration to the Republican Party.

In fact, the state’s registration data now show that Republicans outnumber Democrats in the state for the first time since 2019. Undeclared voters, however, still make up the largest voting bloc at 39 percent.

Multiple other states allow undeclared voters to participate in their presidential primaries, and still others have open contests where voters of any affiliation can vote in the primary of their choosing.

While Mr. Plouffe admitted that interfering with another party’s nomination process was likely “a bridge too far” for some voters, it “could make a lot of sense as we get deeper into this.”

Beating the Odds

The political strategist contended that Ms. Haley’s chances of securing the nomination would likely be decided in the early-voting states.

“If the cards fall the right way, if somehow she could finish ahead of [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis in Iowa, I think that makes it more likely. Maybe [Chris] Christie drops out,” he posited.

“But you see, in New Hampshire, you know, Trump may be close to his ceiling... So, if you got that to a two-person race, he could very well be defeated there,” he added.

Nationally, President Trump leads his fellow Republican contenders a whopping 51.7 points, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls. While he sits at a comfortable 62.7 percent, Ms. Haley and Mr.  DeSantis are in a virtual tie for second at a distant 11 and 10.9 percent, respectively.

Historically, there is no precedent for a presidential candidate who holds such a dominant lead going on to lose their party’s nomination. But Mr. Plouffe noted that the situation can, and often does, shift after the early primaries.

“It would be highly unusual that there’s no surprises in this primary. Maybe there won’t be, but historically, there generally is.”