(NewsNation) — After former President Donald Trump won the South Carolina primary, defeating South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley again, the spotlight now heads to the Michigan primary on Tuesday.
Despite the latest defeat, Haley has vowed to stay in the race until at least Super Tuesday on March 5 when more than a dozen contests take place. It will account for more than one-third of all Republican delegates.
President Joe Biden will also look to repeat his past Michigan primary victory when he faces opponents who haven’t yet won a contest this year but also show no indication of dropping out. Biden is fending off a challenge from Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, who has done little so far to slow the president’s path to the nomination.
In a conference call with reporters on Friday morning, Haley campaign manager Betsy Ankney said the candidate had booked a “seven-figure” ad buy across the Super Tuesday states.
Haley’s campaign does not appear to be hurting for money, having reported a $16.5 million haul in January.
Trump has also yet to announce his vice president pick. He praised Sen. Tim Scott during his victory speech on Saturday. Scott is rumored to be on Trump’s list.
The South Carolina senator had pursued his own quest for the nomination this cycle, but he failed to gain traction and withdrew in November, long before anyone actually voted. Scott endorsed Trump in January.
On Friday, Trump pronounced Scott “the greatest surrogate I’ve ever seen.” Alluding to Scott’s abandoned campaign, Trump added that he is “a much better representative of me than he is a representative for himself.”
As the sole Black GOP senator, he could perhaps boost Trump’s standing with African American voters. The list of contenders to be Trump’s running mate is long.
While Biden and Trump are strong favorites to win in Michigan, state and party rules create complications on both sides.
For Biden, a more significant factor on Tuesday than Phillips may be an effort by some Arab Americans and progressive activists to urge primary voters to cast their ballots for “uncommitted” in protest of Biden’s stalwart support of Israel over the war in Gaza.
The effort has the backing of Rep. Rashida Tlaib, former Rep. Andy Levin and local leaders from throughout southeastern Michigan, including Dearborn, where nearly 55% of residents are of Middle Eastern or North African ancestry, according to Census figures.
On the Republican side, the primary is just the first step in a two-part process to win delegates. Less than a third of the state’s 55 Republican delegates will be up for grabs on Tuesday. The remainder will be won at 13 congressional district meetings that will be held March 2.
Complicating that process is an ongoing dispute within the Michigan Republican Party in which the current and former state party chairs are planning rival events to allocate delegates on the same day.
Trump has backed the faction led by former U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, who was recently recognized by the Republican National Committee as the new chairman.
The Michigan presidential primary will be held on Tuesday. Polls close statewide at 8 p.m. local time. Most of the state closes at 8 p.m. ET, but four counties in the Upper Peninsula are in the Central time zone and close at 8 p.m. CT, which is 9 p.m. ET.
NewsNation’s affiliate The Hill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
