Finley: Draft Nikki Haley for No Labels ticket

If Republicans are too stupid to put Nikki Haley on the presidential ballot in 2024, then someone else should.

The former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador is the only declared candidate from either party who could restore competence to the White House and a semblance of unity to a country that has been shredded over the past seven years.

On my card, she won each of the four Republican presidential debates on points. There were no knockouts, but in Wednesday’s wrap-up in Alabama she demonstrated a wisdom and temperament far superior to either Donald Trump or Joe Biden, and certainly yards above any of her fellow GOP contenders.

Haley was steady Wednesday night, and steady is exactly what America needs.

But what Republicans want is chaos. All the while Haley was proving herself on the debate stage, more than doubling her support in the polls and enjoying a fundraising surge, Trump was rolling along unfazed with his roughly 60% support among GOP voters.

Normally, presidential hopefuls facing a leviathan with a 47 percentage point lead would stop wasting their time and money. But Trump faces serious challenges ahead. His legal battles, which have so far played out in civil courts, become criminal proceedings in New York, Georgia, Florida and Washington D.C., just as the presidential primaries get underway.

Juries will be weighing the former president’s legal future at the same time voters are deciding his political future.

At some point during that process Republican voters may come to their senses. When they do, Haley must be available. She needs to stick with her campaign no matter how badly Trump thumps her in the early primaries.

And if the GOP never regains its sanity, there’s another route to the Oval Office for Haley. In April, the No Labels movement is scheduled to select a candidate to run under its banner against Biden and Trump.

Haley is the perfect choice to top that independent, bipartisan ticket. The 40% of Republicans who oppose Trump are not likely to give him their vote in November if another choice is available. She is moderate enough to appeal to the middle of the Democratic party. If she draws half of the 67% of Democratic-leaning voters who don’t want  Biden, along with a solid majority of independents, she wins.

Haley brings an advantage over other potential No Labels nominees in that she’s already in the presidential race, gaining name recognition and raising money. She has a nationwide political structure already in place.

The political risk to Haley is small. Bolting for a third party will hurt her standing among Republicans and dim her chances of being its nominee in 2028, but if Trump carries the GOP banner next fall, there may not be much left of the Republican Party for her to come home to.

Haley would have a chance with No Labels to aid the long overdue dismantling of the American political duopoly and the reshaping of the political landscape to restore a place for voters in the middle.

Former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat who is among the leaders of the No Labels organization, will be here Wednesday for a luncheon session with the Detroit Economic Club moderated by my colleague, Kaitlyn Buss.

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