Haley's last-ditch effort to win primary votes in Minnesota ahead of Super Tuesday

BLOOMINGTON, MINN. — Hundreds gathered to support former Republican South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley on Monday ahead of next week's March 5 presidential primary.

This was Haley's first stop of many on her cross-country campaign to Super Tuesday states after suffering a hard blow in South Carolina this weekend. Losing by a 20-point margin in her home state doesn't seem to be deterring Haley's ambitions — or her voters' enthusiasm.

The Haley campaigned reported over 1,500 attendees filling the space at the DoubleTree Hotel.

Despite not having a clear path to victory — not having won a single state and losing by double digits — the 51-year-old is continuing to campaign.

A recent national poll from Marquette University Law School found that when pitted up against President Joe Biden, Haley beats him by 18 points.

Former U.S. Senator Rudy Boschwitz (R-MN) and State Senator Kristin Robbins (R-37A) made appearances.

Airforce veteran and election judge Jim Hagenbrock told USA Today he's "with Nikki as long as she's in."

And according to Haley, that's at least until next week.

"In a general election you're given a choice," Haley told the crowd of several hundred Minnesotans. "In a primary election, you make your choice."

More: 'Go for broke': Nikki Haley's supporters want her to stay in the fight against Donald Trump

Hagenbrock made his choice last week when he cast an early ballot for Haley.

The Minneapolis native voted for Trump in 2016 but said that after year three of his presidency, he was sick of him.

"It just snowballed," he said.

In Dec. 2019, Trump was impeached for the first time for abuse of power and obstruction of justice. As a lifelong conservative, Hagenbrock voted for Trump again in 2020 but was already excited for an alternative in 2024.

Trump is expected to win the state next week by a massive margin. Local polling from KSTP/SurveyUSA of the match-up between Trump and Haley has the former president taking 76% of the vote to Haley's 14%.

If the writing on the wall becomes reality for Haley, Trump may not be able to count on swiping her supporters.

First-time voter and high school student Erik Johnson said the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 was "pivotal" to his interest in politics, making him question if Trump was fit to be president.

"I think Donald Trump isn't the right nominee," Johnson told USA Today. "His age, [the MAGA] movement, it feels like he isn't really talking to young voters like me."

The 18-year-old came to the Haley event alone, ready to talk with supporters and hear from the woman who his first vote will go towards. And if she doesn't win the nomination, he said his vote will be for Biden, "100%."

"I don't trust Trump at all in the Oval Office," Johnson said.

Another area Johnson doesn't trust Trump is foreign policy, and he isn't the only one.

Nataliya Koppes, a Ukrainian artist residing in St. Paul, told USA Today that Haley's support for her home country is crucial in her decision to support her.

"I would love our president to be someone who was in foreign policy," she said. "Someone stronger."

Koppes said Trump's "coalition with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin" is unsettling and said, now more than ever, America needs to send aid.

More: Nikki Haley was crushed by Trump in her home state of SC. So why is she still running?

"It is crucial to help [Ukraine]. Unfortunately, they didn't help when it was needed," said the 46-year-old. "It's now or never."

Along with her support for Ukrainian aid, Koppes said Haley's "balance" compared to other right-wing politicians, along with her pro-life and secure border policies, makes her the right choice to get Republicans back in the White House.

During her speech, Haley received enormous applause from the crowd of largely older individuals when she suggested term limits for members of Congress and mental competency tests for anyone over the age of 75.

"I'm not being disrespectful when I say that," she said. "These are people making decisions on the future of our economy, these are people making decisions on our national security, we need to know they are at the top of their game."

Haley didn't bother ignoring her top competitor as she did at the beginning of her campaign, recognizing her predicted but devastating home-state defeat.

"Yes, Donald Trump won [the early states], I give him that," she said. "But he lost 40% of the Republican primary vote in all of the early states. You can't win a general election if you can't take on that 40%."

Haley urged voters to see her as the answer to the question of who should take on Biden in November and encouraged voters to show up to the polls next week, regardless of how Trump has performed in past contests.

More: Minnesota elections: Everything you need to know about casting your ballot

“Don’t complain about what happens in a general election if you don’t vote in this primary," she said. "It matters."

Early voting for the party primaries is available until Monday, regular voting starts Tuesday, March 5.

— Sam Woodward is the Minnesota elections reporting fellow for USA Today. You can reach her at swoodward@gannett.com or on X @woodyreports.

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Haley campaigns in Minnesota in last-ditch effort to win a primary