Trump continues to hold commanding lead over GOP rival Nikki Haley as they look forward to South Carolina primary

By Fox News Staff Fox News

Published January 18, 2024 8:35pm ESTUpdated February 14, 2024 11:21am EST

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2024 GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley says she is fighting for every American’s vote on ‘America Reports.’

ONE BIG LOSS: COLUMBIA, S.C. — Nikki Haley isn’t giving up.

Despite a dismal primary performance in her own home state of South Carolina, the former U.N. ambassador is making good on her promise to stay in the GOP presidential primary race and is placing her bets on next month’s Super Tuesday contests when 15 states — or just over a third of all delegates — are up for grabs.

“America will come apart if we make the wrong choices. This has never been about me or my political future. We need to beat Joe Biden in November. I don’t believe Donald Trump can beat Joe Biden,” Haley told a crowd of supporters gathered at her election night watch party in Charleston, South Carolina on Saturday.

“I said earlier this week that no matter what happens in South Carolina, I would continue to run for President. I’m a woman of my word. I’m not giving up this fight when a majority of Americans disapprove of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” she said, arguing voters in Michigan and the Super Tuesday states deserved to have a choice as they head to the polls over the next 10 days.

A Flourish chart

GOP DELEGATE COUNT AFTER NEVADA: 

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)

DEMOCRAT DELEGATE COUNT AFTER NEVADA:

President Biden, left, and Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn. (AP Photo)

ONE KEY ENDORSEMENT: In a Fox News Digital exclusive, On Sunday afternoon, Senate Minority Whip John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican leader, endorsed former President Donald Trump for re-election. “The primary results in South Carolina make clear that Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee for president in this year’s pivotal presidential election. The choice before the American people is crystal clear: It’s Donald Trump or Joe Biden,” Thune told Fox News Digital.

It wasn’t clear before now whether Thune, who’s seen as one of McConnell’s potential successors to lead the Senate Republican Conference, would endorse either of the two major candidates for the 2024 GOP nomination. 

ONE NEW POLL: There has been a major shift in one demographic in NY according to a new Siena College poll. Jewish voters who have long supported Democrats in presidential elections are coming out for former President Donald Trump at a rate of 53%. The poll shows only 44% of NY Jews plan to vote for President Biden. 

Instances of antisemitism and pro-Palestinian protests have been nearly constant in NY following the October 7th terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel. President Biden has been increasingly critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza following the attacks.

In 2020, Trump received just 30% of the Jewish vote nationwide. Regardless of the gains shown among Jewish voters, the poll still has Biden beating Trump in deep blue NY by a margin of 48%-36%.

Siena surveyed 65 Jews out of 806 total voters. The poll has a margin of error of 4.2%.

ONE PARDON PROMISE: GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley said Sunday she would pardon former President Trump if he is convicted of a federal crime. “I would pardon Donald Trump because I think it’s important for the country to move on,” Haley said during a Fox News town hall in South Carolina. “We’ve got to leave the negativity… behind.”

Trump, the current GOP frontrunner, is facing multiple legal hurdles, with the most recent development out of his New York civil fraud casebeing he was barred from operating his business in New York and fined more than $350 million.

ONE ‘TOUGH DAY’: Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips announced Friday that he had to lay off “a lot” of his campaign staff as he faces difficulties raising enough cash to operate his campaign the way he wants to, but said he will remain in the race for the White House.

“I found it almost impossible to raise enough to do this campaign the way I want. And today, sadly, I had to announce layoffs to a lot of my staff members,” Phillips, who currently represents Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District in the House, said in a video shared to X.