This past weekend, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley had an extended-length interview on one of the Sunday talk shows. It was filled with pre-planned talking point responses, but that is probably to be expected, especially from a Republican going on one of the left-leaning media outlets. When you know the primary goal of the person sitting across the table from you is to make you look foolish, those talking points help provide a safe haven.
But the interview also had a few moments of refreshing candor. The host asked the former United Nations ambassador how she felt she needed to do in the upcoming primary in her home state of South Carolina. Haley responded that she didn’t feel she needed to win, but she needed to do better than she did in New Hampshire.
She is probably right. She has a ways to go to get there.
Haley is currently trailing former President Donald Trump by somewhere between 20 to 30 points in the Palmetto State. In Iowa, she lost by 32. In New Hampshire, she lost by roughly 11. If she can show some strength — say, losing 52 to 48 percent — that could well expose weakness on Trump’s part. And that could fuel her argument to voters and to donors that she should soldier on to Super Tuesday.