Nikki Haley is the last woman standing. How long can she hang on?

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Women were the largest demographic of new business owners in 2023, Jill Biden's State of the Union guest reflects Dems' abortion push, and Nikki Haley hangs on in the GOP presidential primary. Have a thoughtful Thursday.

- Still in it. Going into Tuesday's GOP presidential primary election in New Hampshire, few anticipated Nikki Haley would win—even though the contest was widely seen as her best chance to defeat Donald Trump. So the candidate made a proactive announcement: Even if she failed to dethrone Trump in the primary, she would stay in the race.

That's exactly what happened Tuesday night, with Trump earning 54.4% of the vote to Haley's 43.3%. After the results came in, Haley confirmed that she plans to stick it out and focus on her next contest in her home state of South Carolina. After that, she aims to make it to Super Tuesday on March 5. She's the last serious candidate in the race against Trump after the exit of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

"New Hampshire is first in the nation. It is not the last in the nation. This race is far from over," the former South Carolina governor and UN ambassador said Tuesday night. Trump responded to Haley's insistence on staying in the race with his typical taunting. He told crowds that she "did very poorly actually."

Haley has appealed to GOP voters—and, more significantly, donors—who want anyone but Trump. But a few other X factors may be behind her decision to stay in the race, like the possibility that Trump is barred from the ballot in states beyond Colorado and Maine. Those two states have deemed the former president ineligible based on a clause that disqualifies those who have "engaged in insurrection or rebellion." Ballot challenges are underway in a dozen states, but Trump has appealed the rulings in Colorado and Maine and could very well be on the ballot as usual nationwide.

The former president is embroiled in all kinds of legal trouble, including Georgia's election interference case and E. Jean Caroll's defamation lawsuit, which followed her allegations of sexual abuse. Even if Trump retains his grip on the GOP voting base through the primaries, some Republicans hope that Haley will be around as an alternative if factors beyond the ballot take him down. However, that far-fetched possibility grows more distant with every contest Trump wins.

Haley is already the last woman standing; now it's a matter of how long she can hang on.

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_emmahinchliffe

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