GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley barnstormed through Virginia and Washington ahead of Super Tuesday.
The primary in the nation’s capital began March 1 and concludes March 3, while Virginia votes on March 5, or Super Tuesday—the day with the most contests in the presidential race with 865 delegates at stake across 15 states. There are 19 delegates at stake in Washington and 48 in Virginia.
The DC contest is a closed primary with one voting location—The Madison Hotel, where Ms. Haley had her rally on March 1. The Virginia primary is open, meaning anyone can choose a ballot at a polling location without affiliating with a party.
At all events, the former U.N. ambassador went through her usual stump speech. That has included, but is not limited to, lamenting America’s national debt, blaming both Democrats and Republicans for the $34 trillion deficit; blasting the poor state of health care for military veterans; sounding the alarm over the border crisis, and decrying former President Donald Trump for creating “chaos” pertaining to his legal woes and President Joe Biden for his handling of the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
At the Virginia rallies on Feb. 29—in the state’s capital, Richmond, and in Falls Church—in addition to the aforementioned issues, Ms. Haley touched upon the topic of abortion, where she reiterated her call for respectful discourse. She has called for consensus, noting that the GOP has not had 60 Senate votes to avoid a filibuster in a long time and that it would also require having a majority in the House and occupying the White House. Therefore, she has said that what should be agreed upon is banning late-term abortion.
Ms. Haley also touched upon the issue of in vitro fertilization (IVF), given the ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that embryos are babies. Ms. Haley noted that she had her children, Rena and Nalin, through IVF.
Haley supporter Margot O'Brien told The Epoch Times following the Falls Church event that she appreciated how Ms. Haley spoke about the abortion issue.
She said she liked that Ms. Haley “said it’s every woman’s issue, and we shouldn’t attack people based on their views.
“Like even if you’re pro-choice, you don’t hate on people who are pro-life. If you’re pro-life, you don’t hate on people who are pro-choice because you don’t know everyone’s story is different.”
Haley supporter Mike O'Brien said her speaking about unity was “certainly on point.”
Another supporter Gregory Furst told The Epoch Times, following the Falls Church event, that voting for Ms. Haley is making a statement that “she’s the best candidate of the ones who are running now.” He said he does not “have any confidence in Trump” and that President Biden is a liberal.
Mr. Furst cited Ms. Haley’s experience—which has included being a state legislator, governor of South Carolina, and U.N. ambassador—and that she is “a reasonable candidate of the people.”
During her speeches in Virginia, where Ms. Haley was introduced by Former Virginia First Lady Susan Allen, and the nation’s capital, where DC GOP Chairman Patrick Mara introduced her, she spoke about the need to bring the country together amid the division that she blamed President Biden and President Trump for creating.
“Can you imagine a country where we could sit down at the dinner table and not have a political fight?” she said at her DC rally. “Can you imagine a country where you could go to work and say what you think and not worry about being demoted? Can you imagine a country where we can strongly disagree and not hate each other over it? That’s where we want to go.”
Ms. Haley’s events in Virginia, mainly her second and last event in Falls Church, were interrupted by protesters calling for a ceasefire in the Israel and Hamas fighting.
As she started her remarks, the candidate acknowledged that there might be hecklers in the audience.
“There is a possibility, you should know, that we can have some protesters. So I will tell my protester friends: Please be respectful and, like everybody else here, there’s a time and place ... we can have you protest outside or anywhere else,” Ms. Haley said.
“In here, we want to talk about the fact that we have a country to save.”
Just as she said, “protester friends,” one attendee shouted, “Get out!” to anyone who was planning to cause a disruption.
At Ms. Haley’s event in Falls Church, most of the hecklers held up what appeared to be white signs with anti-Israel messaging. One of them had pro-ceasefire language on a Haley poster that the demonstrator raised high as security was removing her from the ballroom. Haley supporters jeered every protester as he or she was escorted out of the room.
At each event, Ms. Haley responded with a message for her supporters: “Don’t get upset when I get interrupted ... my husband, Michael Haley, and his fellow soldiers fought for their First Amendment right.”
The latest protests come as the Biden administration has been seeking a temporary ceasefire to allow for the exchange of hostages in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners, the latter of whom have been accused of committing terrorism against the Jewish state.
Currently, President Trump has 110 delegates, while Ms. Haley has 20.
