The only two women so far on the early lists of potential Republican presidential candidates of 2024 – Nikki Haley and Kristi Noem – have walked divergent paths in their navigation around former President Donald Trump’s still significant political shadow.
Both women are expected to be in high demand for fundraising and other political events as the GOP brings female voters to justice in next year’s mid-term congressional elections. Republicans have won a smaller share of the women’s vote in every presidential election since 1988 than Democrats, and female voters leaned heavily democratically in both the 2018 and 2020 elections.
While the two women have similarities in their political biographies – both were their states’ first female governors after serving in state law – how they interacted with Mr. Trump and his legacy shapes their early positioning in the future presidential field.
Ms. Haley, a South Carolinian who was a critic of Mr. Trump before becoming his United Nations ambassador for two years, has at times distanced himself from the former president, essentially continuing the approach she took when she didn’t. agreed with him during his reign.
Ms. Noem, the governor of South Dakota’s first term, is closely associated with Mr. Trump. On Friday, she would appear at his resort in Palm Beach, Florida, for a fundraising campaign that would benefit her 2022 reelection campaign. Mr. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., will host the $ 1,000 per person cocktail reception in Mar- a-Lago, along with his girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle.