How Nikki Haley voters are responding to the GOP convention's unity message

Former President Donald Trump says he’s planning to deliver a message of unity as he accepts the GOP nomination Thursday night. But will the Republican voters who supported Nikki Haley in the primary be persuaded? We asked Haley voters who took part in focus groups that question. Laura Barrón-López reports.

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Geoff Bennett: Meantime, Laura, I know that you have been talking to folks who’ve been tracking Nikki Haley voters. That’s, of course, a coveted bloc for both the Biden and Trump campaigns.

How have those voters been responding to all of this?

Laura Barron-Lopez: I have sat in on a lot of focus groups over the last few days, Geoff.

And those Haley voters, moderate Republican voters and swing voters say that the assassination attempt on Donald Trump has not swayed them. But they also say that they’re not necessarily certain about voting for President Biden.

And I spoke to Craig Snyder, a Republican Pennsylvania political operative who is the director of Haley Voters for Biden PAC. And he said that Haley’s endorsement of Trump is not swaying the voters he’s talking to and that the Haley voters that he’s working to mobilize are open to Democrats other than Joe Biden.

Craig Snyder, Director, Haley Voters for Biden: They would be willing certainly to consider another Democrat. But it would depend on who the individual turns out to be. Really, for these voters, they are looking for someone in the center, number one. Number two, they’re looking for someone who they see as a stabilizing force, a nonchaotic force.

Number three, they’re looking for somebody who they see as decent and civil.

Laura Barron-Lopez: Craig Snyder also said, though, that, if President Biden is ultimately the nominee, that he would continue to work to try to make sure that these moderate voters vote for him.

Amna Nawaz: Laura, what about the selection of J.D. Vance as Mr. Trump’s running mate? Has that changed anything for these voters?

Laura Barron-Lopez: It doesn’t seem to have, Amna.

I spoke to Emily Matthews, who runs a working group of 25 Haley voters across the country in key battleground states. The Biden campaign has actually met with this group of Haley voters. And she told us that voters in her group don’t trust J.D. Vance.

Emily Matthews, Haley Voters Working Group: They see him as an opportunist who used to be a never-Trumper like many of them who ended up bowing down to the Trump altar in the pursuit of power. And they see right through it.

Laura Barron-Lopez: She said that her group is concerned with President Biden staying in the race and losing to Trump, and that ultimately she’s also worried that this could hurt President Biden’s legacy.

Geoff Bennett: And have those voters, Laura, been receptive to alternatives to President Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket?

Laura Barron-Lopez: They have, Geoff. Emily Matthews says that her group of Haley voters has been receptive to talk of Vice President Kamala Harris taking over the top of the ticket.

And I also sat in on a number of focus groups this week that were run by Republican never-Trumper Sarah Longwell’s firm. And in a focus group of two-time Trump voters, Brad, who’s a Georgia voter, said that he thinks Vice President Harris could beat Trump.

Brad, Georgia Voter: I just think it’s a fresh face. It’s just someone different. And for those who really don’t like Biden, I think they could coalesce a little bit more around Harris over Biden. And I think that might even sway a few Republicans over. They may absolutely detest Biden, but they may be willing to swallow their pride a little bit with Harris versus Trump.

Definitely not saying it’s a good option, but, for some people, it may be the lesser of two evils.

Laura Barron-Lopez: Again, Brad there was a two-time Trump voter in the swing state of Georgia saying that about Vice President Harris.

None of these two-time Trump voters in that focus group said that they would vote for Trump this time around. And it sounded as though they might be willing to move towards Democrats if Democrats ultimately shook up the ticket. And they appeared more likely to do that if on that ticket Democrats included Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro or North Carolina Governor Cooper.

Geoff Bennett: All right, Laura Barron-Lopez, thanks, as always, for that recording. We appreciate it.

Laura Barron-Lopez: Thank you.