2024 race heats up as Nikki Haley launches bid

 The Big Story 

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) tweeted her presidential campaign launch video on Tuesday, highlighting the theme of generational change and her background as the child of Indian immigrants. Haley had been expected to make her announcement at an event in Charleston Wednesday. 

© AP Photo/Matt Rourke

In the 3.5-minute video, Haley criticized those she said “look at our past as evidence that America’s founding principles are bad” and said, “even on our worst day, we are blessed to live in America.” 

Haley said that after the 2015 church shooting in Charleston, “we turned away from fear toward God and the values that still make our country the freest and greatest in the world.” 

“We must turn in that direction again. Republicans have lost the popular vote in seven out of the last eight presidential elections. That has to change.” 

Former President Trump — who lost the popular vote in the last two presidential elections — is Haley’s only notable official competition so far in the 2024 primary. Haley served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump. It’s early days still, and several other prominent Republicans are making moves for potential 2024 bids, including Sen. Tim Scott (R), also of South Carolina.   

The Hill’s Max Greenwood and Julia Manchester reported ahead of the announcement that “Haley’s allies say that she has a unique lane in a potentially crowded GOP primary field that could help her cut through the noise, especially at a time when many Republicans are wavering on Trump’s candidacy.”  

Max and Julia noted challenges for Haley as well: “Trump still maintains a solid base of support within the party. And while he hasn’t jumped into the race yet, early polling shows Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) as the person best positioned to challenge the former president next year.”

Read more here. 

At the end of her launch video, Haley said of China, Russia and “the socialist left,” “I don’t put up with bullies. And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels.” 

According to the Center for America Women and Politics at Rutgers, three other prominent women have run for the Republican nomination since the 2000 presidential election cycle: Elizabeth Hanford Dole (1999), Michele Bachmann (2012) and Carly Fiorina (2016). 

Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, I’m Amee LaTour. Each week we track the key stories you need to know to stay ahead of the 2024 election and who will set the agenda in Washington. 

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Essential Reads 

Key election stories and other recent campaign coverage:

Feinstein announces retirement at end of term

Bolton says Haley is ‘really running for vice president’

Former Trump spokesperson labels Haley ‘just another career politician’

The Countdown 

Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:

• 7 days until Wisconsin’s primary

• 14 days until Chicago’s municipal election

•  630 days until the 2024 election

 High Stakes in Wisconsin 

© AP Photo/Harm Venhuizen

Wisconsin’s Feb. 21 primary election will narrow down the field for the state Supreme Court seat conservative Justice Patience Roggensack is vacating. The court’s ideological majority will depend on this year’s election. The two candidates with the most votes next week will advance to the April 4 ballot. 

At stake: “Whoever wins that state Supreme Court seat is likely to weigh in on a consequential lawsuit over a contested 1849 abortion law, which offers no exceptions except for the life of the pregnant person,” The Hill’s Caroline Vakil wrote, noting that the state’s recently redrawn legislative districts may also be affected by the election. 

The court currently has a 4-3 conservative majority. The primary, technically nonpartisan, features two liberal candidates – Milwaukee County Judge Jane Protasiewicz and Dane County Judge Everett Mitchell – and two conservative candidates – Waukesha County Judge Jennifer Dorow and Dan Kelly, who was appointed to the state supreme court in 2016 and lost his bid for a full term in 2020.  

Justices weigh in: Roggensack backed Dorow to succeed her. Three other current justices on the court have endorsed: two are supporting Protasiewicz, and one endorsed Kelly. 

Outside groups, too: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported $4.3 million in outside spending in the race as of Feb. 10. Most of that came from two groups: Fair Courts America, which is backing Kelly, and liberal group A Better Wisconsin Together, which is opposing Dorow.  

The 2020 supreme court race saw $10 million in outside and candidate spending, which is the current record in the state.  

In Other News 

Branch out with a different read from The Hill:

Democrat who nearly unseated Boebert launches 2024 bid against her

Adam Frisch, the Democrat who came within half a percentage point of unseating Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) in last year’s midterm election, is launching a 2024 bid against the congresswoman. Frisch — who is vying for the seat in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District — rolled out his campaign on Tuesday and will hold an in-person launch event on Wednesday. “November’s election results show us that Boebert is weak and …

Full Story

Around the Nation 

Local and state headlines regarding campaigns and elections:

• Tennessee bill would abolish local election runoffs (Axios Nashville)

• Defensive Vallas responds to controversies (Chicago Sun-Times)

• Mississippi’s Most Contentious Race Isn’t for Governor. It’s for Lieutenant Governor. (Elections Daily)

What We’re Reading 

Election news we’ve flagged from other outlets:

• Black candidates keep losing winnable races — and say the Democratic Party may be why (Politico)

• New poll not good news for Biden, but how bad is it really? (Roll Call)

• Study Shows Winner-Only Political Maps Discourage Voters, Inflate Polarization (UVAToday)

Elsewhere Today 

Key stories on The Hill right now:

Administration scrambles to quell Congress’s frustration over balloon, UFOs

Senior administration officials scrambled Tuesday to quell frustrations expressed by lawmakers about a lack of timely information about several flying objects and a Chinese spy balloon shot down over the past two weeks. In a classified briefing on Tuesday, the officials offered an update on the three aerial objects shot down Friday afternoon … Read more

Five lingering questions over Ohio train derailment, toxic spill

Residents of the small town of East Palestine, Ohio, are back in their homes this week following their evacuations over looming explosion fears after a train carrying 20 cars of hazardous materials derailed. The contents of the rail cars have since been burned to prevent an explosion, while officials conducted a “controlled … Read more

What People Think 

Opinions related to campaigns and elections submitted to The Hill:

• Beyond political gridlock: A congressional road map for 2023

• Feehery: The check-the-box candidate runs for the Republican nomination

• Data says: Democrats need Biden to run for a second term

You’re all caught up. See you next time!