Nikki Haley has one last card to play: will she eventually endorse Trump?

Nikki Haley’s withdrawal from the Republican presidential primary on Wednesday was “not a shocker”, a leading anti-Trump conservative said, in a contender for understatement of the political year.

“As we’ve said for months,” Tara Setmayer added, “she has no path and [Donald] Trump will be the GOP nominee.”

But Setmayer also pointed to the impact Haley did make in the Republican primary, what it means for Trump, and the choice now facing the former South Carolina governor and UN ambassador as she seeks to retain political relevance.

“Now let the over/under begin for when Haley endorses Trump,” Setmayer, a Republican operative turned member of the anti-Trump Lincoln project, said on social media.

On Super Tuesday, Haley added Vermont to her weekend win in Washington DC but otherwise suffered a wipeout. Though Trump has not yet mathematically secured the nomination, Haley bowed to the inevitable the following morning.

There was consolation for Haley. Across the slate of states which voted on Tuesday, she once again finished closer to Trump than expected, her vote shares above those predicted by polling.

Tellingly, that illustrated sizable opposition to Trump among some Republicans and conservative independents.

“Nikki Haley’s performance across the board is a warning signal for … Trump’s lieutenants,” Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist and ad maker turned Lincoln Project co-founder, wrote on Substack.

“Trump’s senior strategist, Chris LaCivita, saw the results in key states late last night, read the exit poll data, scanned the turnout areas, and knew within hours that Trump’s party isn’t unified.

“It’s smaller, darker, and more passionately devoted to the dear leader, but depending on the state, between 25% and 40% of Republican