The former Governor is back on a newly painted bus with her name on it working towards the upcoming South Carolina GOP primary…
She doesn’t have Secret Service protection….
She doesn’t have a state police detail like she did as governor….
But she does get to meet and great those who saw her as their Governor up close…..
A LOT of those people tell pollster’s they’ll shake her hand and then vote for Donald Trump…..
Everything about Nikki Haley’s latest barnstorm through South Carolina was intended to evoke a candidate on the upswing.
She had a sleek, new navy-blue campaign bus with her name on it. Her campaign, backed by a fresh infusion of funds, pumped $2 million more into ads, for a total $6 million buy. And she had fresh lines of attack to deploy against former President Donald J. Trump.
But the stops, carefully tailored to highlight her ties to the place she calls home and remind voters of her past political successes in the state, frequently served more as reminders of how much has changed here since her last winning bid for governor. Ms. Haley hosted fewer attendees at events in some of the more conservative strongholds crucial to a victory in the Feb. 24 primary. She drew larger, enthusiastic crowds at stops near the coast and around Charleston. Almost everywhere she went, even staunch supporters excited to see her speak conceded that her chances were slim.
“I am not a fan of Donald Trump,” said Robert Zangara, 74, a retired accountant who attended her tour stop on Sunday with his wife at a strip mall in Orangeburg and plans to vote for her next week. “But I just don’t think she’s going to be the nominee.”
Nearly one year to the date since beginning her presidential campaign, Ms. Haley is still promising she will remain in the race through Super Tuesday, on March 5, regardless of the outcome in South Carolina, where she is trailing Mr. Trump by more than 30 points in polls. She has dismissed concerns that a loss would torch her path toward the nomination, or, worse, her future political prospects, even as the momentum she enjoyed before the earlier nominating contests in January has all but disappeared….
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In the last few weeks, she has reframed her stump speech to attack the former president over his mental acuity, legal issues and his role in the collapse of a Republican-led deal in Congress to address the arrival of migrants at the southern border. She has sought to brand Mr. Trump and President Biden as “grumpy old men.” She has chastised fellow members of her party for feeding into Mr. Trump’s “chaos.”
image’s …Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times
Speaking of Palmetto State leaders:
Rep. Jim Clyburn announced Wednesday that he’s stepping down from his Democratic leadership position in the House, while a protege of the South Carolina Democrat signaled a desire to succeed him.
“I have informed Leader Hakeem Jeffries of my intention to step down as Assistant Democratic Leader of the House Democratic Caucus,” Clyburn, 83, said in a statement.
“I am confident that Leader Jeffries, Whip Katherine Clark, Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, and the entire leadership team will continue the important work of putting people over politics,” the statement added.
Rep. Joe Neguse, a 39-year-old who’s considered a rising star in the party, will run for Clyburn’s leadership post, a House Democratic leadership aide told NBC News. Neguse served as one of the impeachment managers during Trump’s second impeachment.
Clyburn said that although he’s retiring from leadership, he is still running for re-election to his congressional seat….
NBC News web site
Jim Clyburn is stepping down as House Minority Leader, but my comment is stuck in moderation….
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/rep-jim-clyburn-step-house-democratic-leadership-post-rcna138899
Glad to see he’ll run again like Pelosi…
They need toi be around for Jeffries, who I belive is gonna be Spoeaker, come January 2025….