Former President Donald Trump will face off against former UN Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Tuesday in what may be the biggest day of the Republican presidential primary so far.
Known as Super Tuesday, March 5 features more than a dozen state Republican presidential primary elections around the country, leaving 854 delegates up for grabs.
A candidate needs 1,215 delegates to win the Republican nomination.
States with presidential primary votes Tuesday include:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
The U.S. territory of American Samoa will hold its primary election Tuesday as well.
The doling out of those delegates will be crucial for Haley, who has so far failed to beat Trump in any state and faces growing calls for her to leave the race. The latest polling, though, shows she will have to exceed expectations to make a dent in the delegate count on Tuesday.
Nationally, Trump leads Haley with 79% support to Haley’s 15% support, according to RealClearPolitics’ polling average. Haley has touted she is more electable than Trump in the general, and polling does show her performing well against Biden.
However, RCP’s polling average shows Trump leading Biden nationally by 2 points, and beating him in several swing states, including Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin. Biden holds a narrow lead in Pennsylvania.
Colin Reed, a Republican strategist, former campaign manager for former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, and co-founder of South and Hill Strategies, pointed out Haley has continued to raise the funds needed to remain in the race, regardless of her uphill battle.
“Running against two guys pushing 80 and facing uncertain futures, Nikki Haley has nothing to lose,” Reed told The Center Square. “She continues to raise money at a healthy clip. About two thirds of the delegates up for grabs on Super Tuesday are in states with open or semi-open primaries, and these are prime Haley targets. With 7 in 10 Americans not wanting a Trump-Biden rematch, there’s only one viable alternative, and that’s Nikki Haley.”
