What Supports Nikki Haley to Remain in the Presidential Race Until Super Tuesday?

Currently, only two candidates remain in the presidential race: Donald Trump and Joe Biden. However, I won't focus on either of the old guys here. Instead, I'd like to discuss Nikki Haley, who recently withdrew from the presidential race.

Early in the morning after Super Tuesday, Nikki Haley, Trump’s sole competitor within the GOP in the 2024 presidential race, announced the suspension of her candidacy.

As soon as her lost in New Hampshire, where Haley heavily invested her efforts and energy, the prediction of Haley’s failure of candidacy appeared continuously. Despite suffering a significant defeat in her hometown of South Carolina, Haley refrained from conceding, leaving the world puzzled: There’s obviously no path forward for Haley, why didn’t she quit?

The results from Super Tuesday came out on the same night: Among all the 20 states and territories that held primary elections, Haley only managed to win in Washington, D.C. and Vermont, losing in all the others. Faced with this reality, Haley eventually made the decision to suspend her presidential campaign, handing the GOP presidential candidacy platform back to Donald Trump.

Well, how did Haley’s presidential campaign manage to survive until Super Tuesday?

The answer to that is pretty simple: Money.

Typically, the primary reason presidential candidates drop out of the race is not fear of losing but rather a lack of campaign funds. However, money has never been a concern for Haley. Despire facing numerous defeats before Super Tuesday, her fundraising efforts remained unaffected. She even described herself as a fundraising machine.

Based on data from Federal Election Commission: as of February, Haley had raised $130 million for her presidential campaign, 75% of which were from large contribution.

The most notable among them is a Super PAC called SFA Fund, which has contributed $80 million to Haley’s presidential campaign. Among its donors are prominent figures from Wall Street, including New York hedge fund manager Paul Singer and WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum, each donating $5 million to Haley’s campaign.

Why do those billionaires decide to support Haley? Because they want to maintain global trade and avoid isolation from the world.

When comparing Trump to Haley, both have similar national policies. If you’re primarily concerned with domestic issues, it doesn’t matter which one you pick. Their significant difference lies in their approaches to foreign affairs.

Haley is a former U.N. ambassador. She possesses a clear understanding of how to navigate U.S. foreign relationships. She is diplomatically more mature than Trump in handling international affairs.

In contrast, Trump insists that if re-elected, he would significantly reduce foreign aid and prioritize national security, with a focus solely on making America great again. Recently, he even stated that he won't guarantee protection to NATO and told Putin to "do whatever the hell they want."

In the absence of US interference, significant changes are expected in the regional political landscape. To simplify, without a big brother in charge, some entities may inevitably make a small move, resulting in unstable and uncontrollable situations. We may see an increase in regional conflicts similar to the Ukraine and GAZA wars. Overall, the global geopolitics will undergo significant reshaping.

This scares the tycoons who have become accustomed to amassing wealth in an era of peaceful and stale globalization.

In an isolated chaos, how can they conduct business? Wasn’t it enough that the entire world was already suffering from the pandemic? With these concerns in mind, Wall Street investors were relentlessly pouring huge funds into Haley’s campaign. They aim not only to maintain US global dominance but, more crucially, to safeguard their own financial interests.

Recently, New York Times conducted an exclusive interview with Tim Draper, one of Haley’s major donors. Draper is renowned as one of the world’s most successful venture capitalists, possessing wealth comparable to that of a country. He is also an investor in prominent enterprises such as Tesla and Baidu.

For investors like Draper, backing Haley isn’t just a spur-of-the-moment personal choice in a politician, but also an investment. What they are investing in is not just politician, but rather a political system and a sustainable future of ongoing globalization. Ultimately, their goal remains economic profit.

However, given the current circumstances, continuing to pour money into Haley’s campaign would clearly be futile.

As a woman of color with expertise in foreign affairs and rich political experience as a former governor, Haley can complement Trump in many ways. She is an unparalleled choice as Trump's running mate. It's common in US politics for opponents today to become allies tomorrow. However, Trump is known for his unexpected choices. So predicting who he'll choose as his vice president is difficult.