The past three years have been nothing short of disastrous for the Republican Party. In January 2021, still reeling from failing to secure control of the presidency or either chamber of Congress, Donald Trump led an insurrection against the U.S. government to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power.

Simultaneously, President Biden took advantage of unified Democratic control and worked tirelessly to pass the most ambitious legislative agenda in more than half a century.

The 2022 elections proved little better for the GOP. Thanks to the partisan extremism of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn 50 years of legal precedent and end women’s rights to privacy, bodily autonomy and access to abortion services, the “red wave” of anticipated Republican victories turned into little more than a trickle.

The GOP did win just barely enough seats to take control of the House of Representatives, but the Republicans reminded Americans it is not a party that can be relied upon to govern the nation. A power struggle between conspiracy-laden far-right extremists and the more moderate Republican establishment led the first year of the 118th Congress to be the least productive since the Great Depression.

As responsible and rational Republicans were ousted from the ranks of the party and replaced by extremists who could not win a general election, the GOP also lost control of numerous statehouses and state executive offices in purple states.

The party’s new leaders, some of whom—including Donald Trump—are facing criminal indictments for their role in trying to overturn the 2020 election, are now publicly celebrating alliances with militant nationalists, white supremacists and conspiracy theorists. As a result, they’re advocating authoritarian policies such as banning books, rewriting school curriculum to outlaw discussions of slavery and other atrocities, scapegoating immigrants, LGBTQ+ people and drag queens for society’s maladies and giving domestic abusers and other violent offenders absolute gun rights. One gets the sense that a large swath of the extremist GOP is almost demanding a right-wing dictatorship.

Americans deserve better, but we won’t get it unless and until the Republican party dumps Trump and restores itself to a non-violent organization that values functional democracy marked by peaceful compromise among a diversity of opinions.

Nikki Haley is the only GOP candidate to offer hope that such a transformation might occur – that’s why the state Republican Party officials refuse to put her name on the ballot for the Republican caucus. As the last viable Republican besides Trump who, as of press time, is still in the race, she is the only GOP candidate with any hope of defeating Trump for the party’s nomination. She is also the only remaining candidate of any party (including Trump) with better-than-even odds of defeating Joe Biden in the general election. Republicans who want to see their party regain the presidency should vote for Haley. Republicans disgusted by Trump should positively race to the polls to vote for Haley to show America some in the GOP still have integrity.

Haley’s conservative credentials are beyond reproach. Her political viewpoints are consistent with traditional conservatism and Republican leaders throughout the last century. Today’s GOP extremists don’t hold traditional conservative values at all—MAGA is a cult of worship for an idealogue without ideas, a man who places America behind his interests. Haley is a cure for what ails too much of today’s GOP.

She is the only viable Republican candidate who chose to respect the rights of the voters and participate in Nevada’s Republican presidential primaries.

Moreover, she is direct and forthright in her condemnation of political violence, her own party’s role in creating many of the challenges of today and her desire to find common ground moving forward.

Despite being a vocal advocate for a full abortion ban in her home state, Haley has called for pragmatic federal policies regarding women’s rights.

“Can’t we all agree that we should ban late-term abortions? Can’t we all agree that we should encourage adoptions? Can’t we all agree that doctors and nurses who don’t believe in abortions shouldn’t have to perform them?” said Haley at August’s debate. “Can’t we agree that contraception should be available? Can’t we all agree that we are not going to put a woman in jail or give her the death penalty if she gets an abortion?”

Her willingness to find some common ground makes sense given her background as a Sikh woman of Indian descent who grew up in state with a long history of treating women, non-Christians and racial and ethnic minorities as second-class citizens. Prior to Haley, South Carolina had never elected a governor who wasn’t a white man, yet Haley built the necessary relationships to overcome the racist and sexist tropes hurled upon her.

This is not to say that Haley is beyond reproach. Her record is abhorrent on a vast number of domestic issues. She denied her own constituents access to affordable healthcare and refused to allow thousands of jobs to come to her state because it might be perceived as a win for a political opponent. She also supported a version of “Don’t Say Gay” that goes even further than Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’, engaged in revisionist history about the role of slavery in the civil war and even blamed transgender youth for suicide among teen girls.

She might personally harbor views of cruelty and a contempt for some Americans, but she believes that a functioning democracy requires compromises and belief in the rule of law. As a result, she uses rhetoric that is far less likely than her opponents’ to lead to a violent insurrection to overthrow democracy itself.

In other words, Haley wants to change America in ways a great many people would object to, but she’s not out to destroy America as we know it. She’s not a disfiguring force like Trump and she doesn’t give cause to question her intelligence or sanity. These are very low bars to clear, but that’s today’s GOP field for president.

For these reasons, we offer our endorsement of Nikki Haley in the 2024 Republican presidential primary elections.

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