With Donald Trump winning Iowa and New Hampshire, there are those who are now calling for Nikki Haley to drop out of the race. The argument rests on stating that the contest is over, a winner can be declared. And while this eagerness is not a virtue, okay, patience is, and patience is what is needed right now. For many reasons, the race must continue on, in my opinion. If the presidential primary process were abandoned now, that would lead to significant impact on down ballot voting candidates who are running for the Senate, running for governor, representative, the state senate, the House [sic] even local elections, come on.

Strong Republican turnout for the New Hampshire presidential primary helped Republicans gain two State House seats in special elections that were in that state that were held the same day as the New Hampshire’s presidential primary election. California offers Republicans a similar opportunity, with a special primary election for the United States Senate seat that will be held on the same day as their presidential primary, March the fifth, during that whole Super Tuesday, Golden State voters will take a crucial step in filling a vacancy created by the death of Democrat Dianne Feinstein. She passed away last year. There’s someone sitting there now, but there’s an election, and currently the Democrats control the Senate with 51, to Republicans 49. And there are three senators, of course, including Bernie Sanders, who call themselves independent, but they caucus with the Democrats. So therefore, it gives them an advantage over the Republicans and majority control of the Senate.

Republicans gaining control of the Senate is one of the party’s primary goals, highest priority, if not. But that goal is undermined if the presidential primary process is shut down prematurely.

California has a top-two primary system. That means that the top two candidates, regardless of their party affiliation, advance on to the general election. Well, four candidates are currently in that area there. They’re running. Right now. There are four, but only one of them as a Republican, Steve Garvey. He’s a former star baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, he is really popular, and in less than five weeks, voters in California would decide if Garvey advances to the general election, into those top two. However, if there’s not a presidential primary, the prospect of strong Republican voter turnout is diminished, and Garvey’s prospects for advancement into the general election are going to be diminished as well. The primary will take place in less than five weeks, so patience is warranted.

The Bible reminds us of the importance of patience. There’s one scripture that reminds us of a farmer who waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and the spring rains. There’s another place where God’s people are reminded to clothe themselves with patience. Patience is a virtue, and is sorely needed in times like these. The rush to declare a winner after just two states have spoken is akin to reading only the first chapter of a book and then claiming to understand the entire narrative. While it’s simple to seek the easy answer, patience will yield a far greater reward.