As she faces off against former President Trump in the race for the White House, Vice President Kamala Harris is making a full court press to land the support of disaffected Republicans.
While Trump retains vast sway over the GOP, even a small sliver of Republicans supporting Harris could make an important impact in what will likely be a race within the margins in the key battleground states.
Many of those Republican voters Harris is targeting backed former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who was Trump’s final remaining rival earlier this year in the GOP presidential primaries.
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Vice President Kamala Harris listens as former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney speaks during a town hall in Malvern, Pennsylvania, on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Haley eventually supported Trump a couple of months after ending her White House bid, but with one week to go until Election Day, the GOP presidential nomination runner-up has yet to join Trump on the campaign trail.
Sources confirmed to Fox News a week and a half ago that Haley, who will be a live guest on “Special Report with Bret Baier” at 6 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel on Tuesday, has been in talks to join Trump on the campaign trail.
Haley gave Trump’s team a list of dates on which she would be available to join the former president.
And Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller told Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie, “Stay tuned,” when asked earlier this month when Haley may join the former president on the campaign trail.
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Fox News reached out on Tuesday to the Trump campaign for an update, but had not received a response at the time this story posted.
Former President Trump speaks at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, on Oct. 27, 2024. (AP )
Haley has been out on the campaign trail helping down-ballot Republicans. On Wednesday she makes two stops in battleground Pennsylvania with GOP Senate nominee Dave McCormick, in a race that is among a handful that may determine if Republicans win back the chamber’s majority.
And even though she’s yet to join Trump on the trail, Haley’s helped his campaign.
Haley has recorded robocalls for the campaign, made low dollar fundraising appeals, and helped with major dollar donors. In addition, she frequently makes the case against Harris on her radio show and in the national media, including appearances on Fox News.
“Kamala Harris and I are total opposites on every issue. Any attempt to use my name to support her or her agenda is deceptive and wrong. I support Donald Trump because he understands we need to make America strong, safe, and prosperous,” Haley said recently on the Harris campaign’s efforts to use her name to gain support.
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Haley launched her presidential campaign in February of last year, becoming the first major candidate to challenge Trump, who had announced his candidacy three months earlier. And she ended up being his final rival, battling the former president in a contentious two-candidate showdown from the New Hampshire primary in late January through Super Tuesday in early March.
Nikki Haley chats with guests and customers while visiting Newfields Country Store during a campaign stop, Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, in Newfields, New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Haley announced that she was suspending her White House campaign on March 6, the day after Trump swept 14 of 15 GOP nominating contests on Super Tuesday.
As she departed the race, Haley made it clear that she intended to keep speaking out. And she continued to grab up to 20% of the vote in Republican presidential primaries in the months after she dropped out.
In late May, in her first public comments since announcing the end of her 2024 campaign, Haley said she would vote for Trump.
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Haley won a total of 97 delegates during the Republican presidential primaries. And she released all of her delegates and urged them to support Trump.
In July, in a high-profile address, Haley spoke in support of Trump at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Nikki Haley speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 16, 2024. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
In an extended interview on “Fox and Friends” a week and a half ago, Trump appeared to express some frustration regarding whether he would ask Haley to campaign on his behalf in the final stretch leading up to Election Day.
When questioned by co-host Brian Kilmeade, Trump responded, “I’ll do what I have to do.”
“Everybody keeps saying that. They don’t say, ‘Get [Florida Gov.] Ron [DeSantis]’ and Ron did very well,” Trump said. “But again, I beat everybody by numbers that have never happened before. And they keep talking about Nikki. Nikki, I like Nikki. Nikki, I don’t think she should have done what she did. And that’s fine that she did it.”
The former president noted, “Nikki is in. Nikki is helping us already…. Nikki is already in, you know, she’s out campaigning.”
But Trump also emphasized, “Nikki Haley and I fought, and I beat her by 50, 60, 90 points. I beat her in her own state by numbers that nobody’s ever been beaten by. I beat Nikki badly.”
According to a recent Fox News national poll, 23% of Republicans questioned described themselves as non-MAGA Republicans. Of those non-MAGA Republicans, a fifth said they would support Harris over Trump.
Fox News’ Dana Blanton contributed to this report