Nikki Haley rallies hundreds at Colorado stop to vote in GOP primary

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley told Colorado voters at a rally Tuesday that this year’s presidential election is about getting the country “back on track” — from securing the border and focusing on the basics in education to preventing wars.

The Republican hopeful characterized herself as the best chance to do that during her afternoon campaign stop in Centennial, ahead of the state’s March 5 primary.

“We can either go with more of the same or we can go with something new,” Haley said. “More of the same is not just Joe Biden. More of the same is also Donald Trump.”

Undeterred by her losses in other states’ primary elections so far — including in her home state, where she served as governor for six years — Haley has repeatedly said she’s not giving up in her fight against Trump, the former president and 2024’s Republican frontrunner. Tuesday’s stop, one of several planned by Haley this week in states with Super Tuesday primaries, is the first campaign event in Colorado by a major presidential candidate so far this year.

Haley urged several hundred rally attendees at the Wings Over the Rockies Exploration of Flight Museum to make sure they return their ballots, and to get their friends and family members to do the same. And she urged them to take their votes seriously.

In Colorado, where the state GOP endorsed Trump before the primary, going against its own bylaws, Haley hopes to appeal to unaffiliated voters looking for a change. Her backers express hope that if enough of them cast their votes for Haley, she may have a shot at winning the state’s delegates.

“You all know family, friends — and you’d be surprised how a lot of them are just general election voters,” Haley said. “In a general election, you’re given a choice. In a primary, you make your choice. This is the time for Colorado to make the choice.”

Christy Jo, a Republican voter from Centennial, said she was registered as unaffiliated until the last election. She was excited to learn more about Haley because she’s not a Trump supporter, she said.

“I like that she has the courage to speak up,” Jo said.

Another unaffiliated voter, Linda Wood of Castle Rock, mentioned Haley’s straightforwardness and her refusal to back down from Trump as reasons she’s backing her. Though Wood worries Haley won’t pull off the nomination based on primary results so far, she likes that Haley, 52, is young and “has a good head on her shoulders.”

“I’d just like to see her bring the country together,” Wood said.

Haley told attendees she was concerned that no Republican running for statewide office in Colorado had received more than 45% of the vote since Trump was elected president in 2016. She spoke about the influx of migrants in Colorado, saying she would implement a national e-verify system to ensure employers were hiring only residents with legal authorization.

“Let’s deport. Let’s defund sanctuary cities once and for all,” she said to cheers.

Haley spent much of her speech differentiating herself from Trump, saying she would make it a priority to tackle the country’s $34 trillion in debt — more than $8 trillion of which was Trump’s doing, she said.

“The younger generation will tell you they’re worried about this debt and what it’s going to leave in their life,” she said. “They’re worried about if they’re ever going to find a job, if they’re going to make ends meet. They don’t know how they’re ever going to afford a home. They’re worried about wars breaking out. And then we want to know why there’s so much anxiety, stress and depression.”

Haley also said that she intended to crack down on fraud in COVID-19 pandemic funding programs and said she would veto any spending bill to take the country back to “pre-COVID levels.”