Nikki Haley hasn't yet won a GOP contest. But she's vowing to keep fighting Donald Trump

Nikki Haley faces uphill battle against Trump in GOP primary, vows to stay in race despite expected losses.

— There are no wins on the horizon for Nikki Haley. Those close to the former United Nations Ambassador, the last major Republican candidate standing in Donald Trump's path to the GOP's 2024 presidential nomination, are privately bracing for a blowout loss in her home State's primary election in South Carolina on February 24. And they cannot name a State where she is likely to beat Mr. Trump in the coming weeks.

But ahead of a major address on Feb. 20, Me. Haley told The Associated Press that she will not leave the Republican primary election regardless of Saturday's result. And backed by the strongest fundraising numbers of her political career, she vowed to stay in the fight against Mr. Trump at least until after Super Tuesday's slate of more than a dozen contests on March 5.

“Ten days after South Carolina, another 20 States vote. I mean, this isn’t Russia. We don’t want someone to go in and just get 99% of the vote,” Ms. Haley said. “What is the rush? Why is everybody so panicked about me having to get out of this race?"

In fact, some Republicans are encouraging Ms. Haley to stay in the campaign even if she continues to lose — potentially to the Republican National Convention in July. Her continued presence could come in handy if the 77-year-old former president, perhaps the most volatile major party front-runner in U.S. history, becomes a convicted felon or stumbles into another major scandal.

As Mr. Trump's “Make America Great Again” movement presses for her exit, a defiant Ms. Haley will outline her rationale for sticking in the race for the foreseeable future. In an interview ahead of the speech, she highlighted Mr. Trump's legal exposure and criticised MAGA activists who say she's hurting Mr. Trump's chances against President Joe Biden in the general election by refusing to drop out.

“That’s about the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. If I get out of the race today, it will be the longest general election in history,” Ms. Haley said. She also pushed back when asked if there is any primary state where she can defeat Mr. Trump. “Instead of asking me what States I'm gonna win, why don't we ask how he's gonna win a general election after spending a full year in a courtroom?”

History would suggest Ms. Haley has no chance of stopping Mr. Trump. Never before has a Republican lost even the first two primary contests has gone on the win the party's presidential nomination. Polls suggest she is a major underdog in her home State and in the 16 Super Tuesday contests to follow. And since he announced his first presidential bid in 2015, every effort by a Republican to blunt Mr. Trump's rise has failed.