Kemp slams Ga. GOP’s call for Haley to drop presidential bid

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Georgia’s Republican National Committee delegates are urging Nikki Haley to halt her presidential campaign in the aftermath of former President Donald Trump’s New Hampshire victory Tuesday night.

The statement was signed by Georgia GOP chair Josh McKoon and RNC national committee Jason Thompson and Ginger Howard, and released Wednesday morning.

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However, Gov. Brian Kemp’s chief communications officer, Cody Hall, said it’s not the Georgia GOP’s role to choose Republican White House nominees, but only to them.

Haley, according to The Associated Press, invested significant time and financial resources in New Hampshire; ramped up her criticism of Trump after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race; and became the sole GOP alternative to Trump.

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But the appeal ultimately failed to resonate with enough voters, and now Haley is in a weakened position heading into a primary in her home state.

The former president clinched his second straight victory in his quest for the 2024 GOP nomination after knocking out most of the field with a commanding win in Iowa.

Haley is set to campaign in the U.S. Virgin Islands and in South Carolina on Wednesday. The next primary is scheduled for Feb. 3 in South Carolina on the Democratic side.

Trump is facing 91 felony counts across the nation, including in Georgia, where suddenly embattled Fulton County DA Fani Willis is attempting to try the nation’s 45th president on charges he and several Republican allies attempted to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election.