Marco Rubio: ‘Trump Will Be the GOP Nominee’ But How Much Donor Money Will Be Wasted in the Meantime

Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and 2024 Republican presidential candidate,
Mel Musto/Bloomberg

It remains unclear how much donor money will be wasted in the Republican primary race when former President Donald Trump will certainly be the nominee, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said on Tuesday evening following Trump’s victory in New Hampshire.

“Trump will be the GOP nominee,” Rubio, who formally endorsed Trump this month, said on X.

Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Marco Rubio, R-Fla., talks to reporters after a closed-door briefing on the Chinese surveillance balloon that flew over the United States recently, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Marco Rubio, R-Fla., talks to reporters after a closed-door briefing on the Chinese surveillance balloon that flew over the United States recently, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

“What we don’t know yet is how much donor money is going to be wasted over the next month,” he said, essentially mocking Nikki Haley after she made it clear that she is not jumping out of the presidential race:

Rubio’s remark followed Trump’s decisive victory in the Granite State, as he bested Haley despite her reliance on support from independents and Democrats.

According to a CNN exit poll, “About 7 in 10 said they were registered as undeclared prior to Tuesday.”

But this is all part of Haley’s strategy, as her campaign said in a memo released ahead of New Hampshire’s results that Haley plans to compete in South Carolina, as well as Super Tuesday states, asserting that 11 of the 16 Super Tuesday states have open or “semi-open” primaries. Haley’s campaign believes there is “significant fertile ground” for Haley on Super Tuesday, as she plans to attract non-conservative voters.

And on Tuesday, Haley made it clear that she is not leaving the race any time soon.

“There are dozens of states left to go, and the next one is my sweet state of South Carolina,” she told her supporters, echoing the sentiments of the memo released hours ago.

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