It is unheard of in the history of presidential primaries that winning a primary can serve as instant proof of why you are losing the race overall — but Nikki Haley has accomplished just that.
This week, Haley managed to get a majority of the about 2000 votes cast in … the Washington, D.C., GOP primary.
Yes, that would be Washington, D.C. — aka the Swamp.
If ever there were a “victory” that explained exactly why the former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador has lost every other primary around the country where she has been on the ballot, the D.C. primary win would be it.
First of all, the very fact that there were a mere 2,000 votes cast speaks exactly to the political makeup of the Swamp. It is filled to overflowing with left-leaning federal bureaucrats and lobbyists who have not a conservative bone among them.
But more to the point is that D.C. Republicans are themselves protective of the Swamp. Because they are part of it.
And the crystal-clear message sent by GOP Swamp-dwellers in this D.C. primary is that they see Haley as exactly one of them.
They detest former President Donald Trump because they know he means business when it comes to reforming federal bureaucracies filled to overflowing with left-leaning Swamp dwellers, like those populating the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the CIA. They know without question that the base of the Republican Party, voting everywhere from Iowa to New Hampshire to South Carolina, Michigan, and more, are determined to give a veritable steam bath to the Swamp and its taxpayer-paid denizens.
Recall this headline from Breitbart:
Nikki Haley Leads Donald Trump in Donations From Federal Lobbyists
That story reported:
According to financial disclosures analyzed by Bloomberg, Haley had the backing of 65 federal lobbyists, who either gave to her campaign or PACs in 2023. The total amounted to over $106,000.
In comparison, just eight federal lobbyists donated to Trump’s campaign or supporting PACs in an amount totaling nearly $42,000, per the disclosures.
In clueless fashion, Haley thanked the Swamp for her D.C. victory, saying:
Republicans closest to Washington’s dysfunction know that Donald Trump has brought nothing but chaos and division for the past 8 years.
Translation? Trump is about stopping the corrupted Swamp and cleaning it out from top to bottom. And to Haley, stopping the Swamp’s corruption and bureaucracy brings “nothing but chaos and division.” Which is to say that were she ever elected, she would lead the Swamp — not clean it up. Which is exactly why she gets all those lobbyist big bucks.
Recall that at the beginning of the campaign, Haley agreed to a pledge from the Republican National Committee to support whoever emerged as the GOP nominee.
Not anymore.
Fox News has reported:
Pressed further on her former pledge, Haley argued that she will “make what decision I want to make” when it comes to endorsing the former president.
So much for giving her word.
Which in turn illustrates exactly that Haley is not about conservative principle. Everything is, shall we say, situational.
And that, in turn, is exactly why she won the Swamp primary.
And is also exactly the kind of person who should never get near the Oval Office.
