AUGUSTA, Maine — Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will visit Portland on Sunday as part of a last-minute swing to Maine and other states deciding their presidential primaries on Super Tuesday.
It is looking like Tuesday’s slate of 15 Republican primaries across the country could mark the end of Haley’s longshot campaign against former President Donald Trump. The former president has convincingly won each of the first four states to award delegates, including Haley’s home state.
Yet Haley, the only major Trump challenger left in the race, is still pressing on with a whirlwind set of stops announced by her campaign on Thursday. She is scheduled to visit Washington, D.C., North Carolina, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine and Texas between Friday and Monday, holding a 7 p.m. rally at the Elks Lodge in Portland on Sunday to cap her weekend.
Haley has campaigned hard against Trump, saying he cannot beat President Joe Biden while citing polls showing her doing better than Trump against the Democratic president. But voters have rejected her so far, and she looks to have no path to victory in the upcoming states.
Trump was supported by 77 percent of likely Maine Republican primary voters to just 19 percent for Haley in a poll released earlier this month by the University of New Hampshire. Biden also had a commanding lead over nominal opposition on the Democratic side.
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Haley has placed some focus on Maine in the waning days ahead of Super Tuesday. She released a slate of endorsements here earlier this week, including former U.S. Rep. David Emery of the 1st District and former Maine Senate President Mike Thibodeau of Winterport. However, there were no current lawmakers on the list, showing Trump’s hold on the party.
Trump and Haley are among five Republicans on Maine’s Tuesday ballot. The other three candidates — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and businessman Ryan Binkley — have all dropped out of the race. Biden and U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota will appear on the Democratic ballot.
