Haley Dismisses Speculation of Joining Ticket With RFK Jr.

Republican presidential candidate and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event at Clemson University in Clemson, S.C., on Feb. 20, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

During a Feb. 26 news conference, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley shot down speculation that she will run as a third-party candidate, possibly even with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“I have not spoken with anyone about anything other than running as a Republican,” she told The Epoch Times when asked if she had spoken to Mr. Kennedy, who, like Ms. Haley, is seeking to position himself as an alternative to incumbent President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

“I have not talked to anyone. I have not put time into that. That’s not anything I’ve ever thought about. I’m running in a Republican primary.”

Ms. Haley previously dismissed talk that she might run with “No Labels,” a group aiming to run candidates that it perceives as centrist.

She spoke to reporters at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan, ahead of an event preceding the state’s Feb. 27 presidential primary.

The presidential primary will be followed by a Republican Party convention on March 2, where members of the state party will decide how 39 of the state’s 55 delegates are allocated. Just 16 delegates will be awarded based on the results of the primary.

The convention arrangement is a compromise after the state Legislature, dominated by Democrats, moved the state’s primary up from mid-March. That ran afoul of Republican National Committee (RNC) rules.

Michigan GOP Turmoil

The Michigan GOP has been in a leadership conflict between former Chairwoman Kristina Karamo and former U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, the latter having been previously endorsed by President Trump. The RNC voted to recognize Mr. Hoekstra as head of the state party earlier this month, but Ms. Karamo and a group of state party members maintain that she is still the state party leader, and she intends to hold her own convention to compete with Mr. Hoekstra’s.

Before taking questions from reporters, Ms. Haley said that Republicans in Michigan were harmed after President Trump’s victory in 2016. She cited a 2012 “right to work” law, repealed in 2023, as a victory prior to the era of President Trump.

Ms. Haley’s campaign suffered a number of blows in the hours after she lost the South Carolina Republican presidential primary, a contest in the state that she once led as governor. She netted less than 40 percent of the vote there. Ms. Haley had previously said that she needed to achieve a share of the vote in South Carolina above the 43.2 percent she had received in New Hampshire.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), one of her high-profile Republican supporters in her home state, spoke bluntly with The Epoch Times when asked about the result.

“The people spoke for Trump,” he said.

In addition, the Koch family’s Americans for Prosperity Action (AFP) has stopped financially backing Ms. Haley.

Just days before the South Carolina primary, Vivek Ramaswamy, a surrogate for President Trump in South Carolina, told The Epoch Times that he would “invite [AFP] to reconsider their decision” to support Ms. Haley.

“And you know what? I’m optimistic that, with some forethought, they actually will,” he said.

Mr. Ramaswamy also speculated that Ms. Haley is lining up support for a No Labels run.

The Haley campaign has touted raising $1 million “from grassroots supporters alone” in the day following her defeat in South Carolina.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.