How about this thought: Haley is still in the race because she wants to prevent Trump from getting elected, and because she is getting contributions from democrats who want the same thing.
I’m betting she forms a third party. That will take votes from Trump.
I have read a lot of articles about Haley supporters—and many of the folks who voted for her are either Democrats or leaning Democratic who only voted for her to cause mischief for Republicans.
Of the Republicans who voted for her most say (in one survey I saw 90%) that they would support President Trump in the general election.
Even if she ran as a third party (which I do not think is feasible for a bunch of boring logistical reasons) she would be another John Anderson—taking small numbers of voters from both major candidates—a wash.
The real third party threat is RFK Jr. running in all fifty states on the libertarian party ticket.
That would crush Democrats hopes and dreams and turn the election into a Trump landslide.
RFK Jr. is polling in the ten percent range in many polls.
There is no intersection between those willing to vote for Haley and those willing to vote for Trump. The establishment trying to run her against Trump as a spoiler is a pathetic joke. Her “base”, if you want to call it that, is a bunch of democrats trying to throw a monkey wrench into the Republican primary process and a tiny number of establishment RINOs who are just dems in disguise. She’s not pulling votes from anyone, she’s just weirdly representing a few democrats in those states that foolishly allow open primaries, and putting on a bizarre political drag show for the RINOs who want to pretend they’re supporting a “conservative.”