Liam Conner
Shortly after former Republican Party presidential candidate Nikki Haley announced Wednesday she would vote for former President Donald Trump in November of this year, Biden’s campaign held a virtual meeting with his supporters that same night.
Several of Haley’s supporters, including some members of her former state leadership team and members of the “Women for Nikki” coalition, joined the nationwide appeal. The meeting was organized by Richard Schwartz, executive director of the anti-Trump Haley Voter Working Group.
Biden campaign deputy political director Juan Peñalosa joined the call to emphasize the importance of the Haley coalition’s support in defeating Trump and addressed the differences Haley supporters have with Biden, according to Schwartz. He said that while some of Haley’s voters may be open to voting for the president, there are strong political differences.
“A lot of them haven’t said they’re going to vote for Joe Biden; a lot of them are actually thinking about writing for Nikki Haley,” Schwartz said. “There is a wide range of views, but this is certainly not preaching to the converted.”
Although she abandoned his presidential candidacy in March, Haley still managed to attract hundreds of thousands of votes in several Republican primaries, including in swing states.
In the Pennsylvania Republican primary in April, more than 157,000 voted for Haley, representing about 16% of the total vote share. In Wisconsin, also in April, Haley finished with nearly 13% of the vote in the Republican Party primary, close to 77,000. Biden, who is trailing Trump in recent polls in those states, won both in 2020, but his margin of victory was very small — about 21,000 in Wisconsin and about 82,000 in Pennsylvania.
Schwartz says he shared a list of issues that are priorities for Haley’s supporters in the Biden campaign, such as supporting Israel and face the crisis in US southern border. He added that he has been working with Biden’s reelection team to gather information about what it was about Haley that appealed to these Republican voters and what messages were likely to resonate with them.
After Haley announced she would vote for Trump, a former Haley volunteer, Alissa Baker, who is a member of the task force, said she continues to oppose Trump.
“As a citizen, she has to make the same choices we do,” Baker said. “She gave the reason, and I respect that. I also respect the fact that she is not endorsing or telling her supporters how to vote. That doesn’t change my thinking about how I will vote in November at this point.”
In an email Thursday, the Biden campaign said of its collaboration with the Haley Voters Working Group: “As Donald Trump continues to attack moderate Republican and independent voters, the Biden campaign is investing in speaking to these voters and working to win their support.”
Aaron Navarro contributed to this story.
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