Donald Trump says Nikki Haley didn't qualify for Indiana's primary ballot: What we know
As some states' presidential primaries and caucuses loom, debate has started over who will be on Indiana's Republican ballot for president.
Despite claims by former President Donald Trump and some others, Indiana counties are still counting petition signatures, so the state's presidential ballot is not yet finalized.
Trump posted on the conservative social media platform Truth Social on Wednesday night that former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will not be on Indiana’s presidential primary ballot because she missed the deadline and did not get enough signatures.
Republican Rep. Jim Banks, in a post on X, formerly Twitter, shared Trump’s post and declared that “Indiana is Trump Country.”
Related: When is the primary in South Carolina? A guide to the Republican and Democratic elections.
“Nikki Haley didn’t get enough signatures,” Banks wrote. “It’s over. She needs to do what’s best for America and call it quits.”
Haley, in a post on X, called Trump “confused.”
"Looks like Donald Trump is confused again," Haley, who served as Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, wrote. "Another reason why he's too afraid to debate me."
Did Nikki Haley qualify for Indiana primary?
It's not yet known whether Haley got enough signatures to make the primary ballot in Indiana.
Candidates for president had until Tuesday to file petition signatures with Indiana county voter registration offices for verification. County offices had counted 4,781 petition signatures for Haley's campaign as of the end of the day Wednesday.
Indiana requires candidates for president, U.S. senator and governor to submit 500 petition signatures from each of Indiana's nine congressional districts. As of Wednesday, Haley had not hit the 500 signature count threshold in the state's 7th and 9th districts.
But those figures only reflect the signatures that have been certified to date. Voter registration officials in Marion and Monroe counties, the largest counties in those two congressional districts, told IndyStar their numbers are not final, and they are still counting.
Candidates have until Feb. 9 to officially file once petition signatures are verified.
Indiana 2024 presidential primary key dates
According to Indiana’s 2024 calendar for federal, statewide and local elections, presidential candidates had a deadline of Tuesday to submit petition signatures for verification to county voter registration offices.
Presidential candidates have until Feb. 9 to file their declaration of candidacy and verified petitions to be placed on the primary ballot, according to the Secretary of State’s 2024 election calendar.
The primary will be held May 7, with early voting starting April 9.
Brittany Carloni is a state government and politics reporter at the Indianapolis Star, part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany. Star reporter Kayla Dwyer contributed.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana's presidential primary is in May. Who's on Republican ballot?
