Judge Judith Sheindlin, known to her television show fans as Judge Judy, has endorsed Nikki Haley in the Republican primary race. This seems to be the latest in the reporting on Haley’s growing momentum in the race.

Cable news stations are reporting on Haley’s momentum. Most are writing off the DeSantis campaign. It is all too soon to make any final judgements but all news outlets assume that Trump will be the nominee, given his large lead in polls. The only story that goes against the narrative is Nikki Haley’s rise in New Hampshire and to a small extent, in Iowa.

Last night, Haley participated in a town hall style even on FNC in Iowa. The moderators were Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. She did well. The questions were not softballs and she rolled with it. She spoke up about her foreign policy experience and slammed Biden’s policies, which she said makes America “vulnerable and putting us at risk.” She accused Trump and DeSantis of cherry-picking her statements from the past on illegal immigration. She zinged them for her past remarks claiming Hillary Clinton helped inspire her to get into politics, implying Haley is a liberal. Both Trump and DeSantis are running ads against Haley in the run-up to the caucuses on January 15.

Haley said that the Supreme Court should rule quickly and keep Trump on the ballots. She said she will beat him “fair and square.” No outside help from Democrats is necessary.

“No, he shouldn’t be taken off the ballot and the Supreme Court needs to rule quickly before other states start to do this,” Haley said. “This is one of those, don’t open a door if you don’t want to see what happens this is a door we don’t need to open. I will defeat President Trump fair and square. I don’t need anybody throwing him off the ballot to do it.”

The audience was very supportive and applauded frequently. I’m curious to see how Ron DeSantis is received during his town hall on FNC tonight. Same moderators and format as Haley’s town hall on Monday night.

Was it Haley’s performance during that town hall that inspired Judge Judy to endorse her? Judge Judy is a newbie to making presidential endorsements. The first one she made was when she endorsed Michael Bloomberg in the 2020 Democrat primary. I assumed she was a Democrat. Maybe she’s more of an independent, I don’t know. Whatever her reason, Haley is her candidate now.

“I’m proud to endorse Nikki Haley because she is whip smart, has executive credentials and was a superb governor,” Sheindlin said in a statement. “She has international gravitas as Ambassador to the United Nations. She is principled, measured and has that elusive quality of real common sense. I truly think she can restore America and believe she is the future of this great nation.”

Haley returned the compliments.

“Judge Judy is a no-nonsense lady who has earned the respect of millions of Americans from her courtroom by being thoughtful, fair, and honest. I’m honored to have her support,” Haley said in a press release.

I guess Judge Judy isn’t a fan of Joe Biden. Or Donald Trump.

I don’t think that endorsements play much of a role in elections. They may gain press coverage when they first happen but I don’t think that they make much difference in the grand scheme of things. Voters talk to family members and friends. They make their own judgements.

Will Haley’s momentum last? What I am waiting to see is how DeSantis finishes in the Iowa caucuses. I’m hoping he has a strong second finish and moves on to New Hampshire. If Trump wins Iowa and then New Hampshire and South Carolina, it’s game over. He’ll be the nominee.

One thing for sure is that Haley is over the target. Look at Trump’s latest attack on Haley.

If you had the “Donald Trump spreads racist birther conspiracies about Nikki Haley” ticket, it’s time to cash it in pic.twitter.com/DTOQGJKJFo

— Christian Schneider (@Schneider_CM) January 9, 2024

It’s 2008 all over again with Barack Obama or 2016 with Ted Cruz.