What is Nikki Haley counting on exactly?

[EJ24]

Why is Haley staying in the race? Does she think Trump isn't going to make it to the general election (i.e. getting convicted and sent to prison)?

It's pretty clear she has no path electorally. Does she think the GOP base will suddenly get on board with her in the event Trump can't run? I think that's.....really delusional. To say the least. What's her end game?

[PeteB]

Pretty much that.  She is counting that once legal troubles catch up with Trump, she will be the only wo(man) left standing.

[Fight for Trump]

Yes, it is a more legitimate version of the Dean Phillips "hang around and hope Joe Biden dies" strategy. And yes, it is delusional.

[Redban]

She’s hoping that as the race goes, more people will see her and realize she’s the only alternative to a trump/biden; and she might be able to win some people over

[PeteB]

I should add that she is actually a more plausible candidate for the GOP than Trump, but as long as Trump's "Inevitability" clouds the voters' minds, she will not get a decent chance. 

[Progressive Pessimist]

Maybe it's just spite at this point.

Whatever the reason, I back her on prolonging this primary.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Why is Haley staying in the race? Does she think Trump isn't going to make it to the general election (i.e. getting convicted and sent to prison)?

It's pretty clear she has no path electorally. Does she think the GOP base will suddenly get on board with her in the event Trump can't run? I think that's.....really delusional. To say the least. What's her end game?

Whatever the modern GOP equivalent of "dead girl / live boy" is. Trump dying is probably the only thing that counts,  although I suppose if he started painting himself purple and saying he was Satan from Alpha Centauri and sacrificing babies during his speeches that might do it. (Republicans though.)

Failing that, if Trump gets the nomination and loses in November, she'll be at the front of the pack in 2028. (Presuming Trump dies between now and then, of course.)

[Senator Incitatus]

If Trump or Biden dies, the nominee won’t be Haley or Phillips respectively. That’s not how the nominating process works. They’re doing this for cash and attention—Haley mostly the former, Phillips mostly the latter.

[Fight for Trump]

If Trump or Biden dies, the nominee won’t be Haley or Phillips respectively. That’s not how the nominating process works. They’re doing this for cash and attention—Haley mostly the former, Phillips mostly the latter.

I love how Vivek exposed Nimrata for her corruption.

[Ferguson97]

Honestly, staying in until the end so that she has a strong argument to be the nominee in the event of Trump's death/disqualification is a much better plan than any other strategy we've seen from Trump's primary challengers.

[ReaganLimbaugh]

Whatever her super rich donors and the lobbyists tell her to do.

[Pericles]

If I were her, I couldn't feel good with myself if I gave up before South Carolina. She has that two way race and a few weeks to run against Trump, and then at the end she can hold her head high and tell herself she did everything she could.

Not too high though, she will still need to endorse and campaign for him after all.

[Arizona Iced Tea]

She's setting up the groundwork for 2028.

[Burke Bro]

Whatever her super rich donors and the lobbyists tell her to do.

As she should. We deserve a choice in this primary. Some of us don't want the idiot with 91 criminal charges.

[Sir Mohamed]

Attention.