Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) called on former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley to step aside in the Republican presidential primary on Monday, a day before the New Hampshire primary, claiming “there’s no clear path for someone else in the Republican Party” other than former President Donald Trump.
“I think at this point, it’s appropriate to say it is time for the party to unify; it is time for us to get behind our nominee,” Blackburn said in an interview with the Washington Examiner. “Any time and any money we spend on primary efforts is going to be money we don’t have to spend on the general election, getting our message out, and getting people to the polls in November.”
Blackburn, who endorsed Trump in April, said she is committed to helping Trump get elected and support the candidates he’s endorsed. She pointed to the fact the former president has been topping 50% support in the latest polls in New Hampshire.
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“When you look at the polling out there, people are moving to President Trump, Independents are moving to President Trump because of everything he accomplished during his term,” Blackburn said.
The first real test with independent voters will come on Tuesday. New Hampshire will offer Haley her best opportunity to slow Trump’s momentum since any independent or unaffiliated voter can participate in the Republican primary. The deadline to switch parties was in October. Republicans will not be able to vote in the Democratic primary, and Democrats cannot vote in the Republican primary. Independents can vote in either primary on Tuesday and do not need to decide ahead of time which primary they will participate in.
Haley and her allies continue to push back against calls to drop out of the race.
“Let me get this straight. Donald Trump won 56,000 votes out of 3 million in Iowa. He got 1.5% of the vote, not even. America doesn’t do coronations. We believe in choice,” Haley said at a Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Franklin on Monday. “Let’s show all of the media class and the political class that we’ve got a different plan in mind, and let’s show the country what we can do.”
While it has become a rallying cry for Trump’s base, some are still concerned about the court cases that still loom as the former president faces 91 felony counts in four separate cases for allegedly obstructing justice, mishandling classified information, falsifying business records in connection to hush money paid to a porn star, and conspiring to overturn the election in 2020. Blackburn said the voters don’t want a Plan B candidate.
“We don’t want two tiers of justice; we know that he is steadfast, he is resolute,” she said. “I believe President Trump is going to come through all of this just fine and will be the next president.”
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There has been some speculation that Blackburn could be under consideration as a running mate. Her name had been floated a couple of times during the 2016 cycle. The Tennessee senator, who is up for reelection this year, said she is only focused on her Senate campaign.
“I’m making certain that people keep up with my race. When it comes to supporting President Trump, I am going to do whatever I can to help him win and help him run strong,” she said.
