MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki pointed out the elephant in the room about voters who supported former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Super Tuesday.
Kornacki pointed to exit polling which found several voters who picked Haley approve of President Joe Biden’s job performance and likely voted for Haley to retaliate against former President Donald Trump.
“I think there’s a lot of evidence coming out of all of these primaries that a very significant factor in the Republican electorate and the vote was people who voted for Biden in 2020 who will never vote for Trump, they’re motivated by their opposition to Donald Trump. But the rules allow them to participate in these Republican primaries and they obviously sided with Nikki Haley because they want to vote against Donald Trump.”
Exit polls found in a Republican primary in Virginia that one out of five voters who supported Haley approve of Biden’s job performance, Kornacki said. A Republican primary electorate was seven times more favorable to Biden than an overall survey of Republicans. (RELATED: Roughly 70% Of Haley Voters In New Hampshire Weren’t Registered Republicans, Exit Poll Shows)
“So when you have a Republican primary electorate that is seven times more favorable to Joe Biden and the job he’s doing as president than we’re getting when we poll Republicans, that should set your alarm bells off in terms of I think there was a lot of crossover voting here and elsewhere from folks who just want to vote against Donald Trump and will in November. Because when we look at the general election polling, we don’t see a lot of slack for Donald Trump with Republicans.”
A voter for Haley in Cornelius, South Carolina, told CNN that he voted for Haley and plans to vote for Biden in November. He added that he would not vote for Haley if she were the nominee in the general election.
A Nikki Haley voter in SC said he will vote for Biden in November. Many independents are voting for Nikki Haley simply to help Democrats…@DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/hFPxIEekmG
— Nicole Silverio (@NicoleMSilverio) March 5, 2024
Haley suspended her presidential campaign Wednesday morning after only winning Washington, D.C., and Vermont in the primary. Trump currently has 995 delegates, veering him closer to the 1,215 needed to secure the nomination.