South Carolina Poll Projects Haley Headed for Historic Defeat as Trump Leads by More than Two-to-One Margin

Republican Presidential Candidate former US Ambassador Nikki Haley attends the Thanksgivin
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A poll examining the Republican primary race out of South Carolina is projecting a historic defeat for presidential hopeful and former Gov. Nikki Haley.

The CBS News survey asked likely GOP primary voters in South Carolina who they plan to support in the upcoming February 23 primary, and Trump leads by a massive margin, garnering 65 percentage points to Haley’s 30 percentage points — a difference of 35 percent:

The survey finds that Haley has virtually no advantage going into her home state, as three-quarters of likely GOP voters say Haley being from South Carolina makes “no difference” to them. Only one in five say it makes them “more likely to vote for her,” and five percent say it makes them “less likely to vote for her.”

Additionally, 76 percent think Haley is clearly not part of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, and the vast majority, 89 percent, are more concerned with national issues than issues specific to the Palmetto State.

Trump voters are also more set in their decision to support him, as 87 percent have “firmly decided” they will support him, compared to 78 percent of Haley voters who say the same.

Trump has a higher approval rating as president, 82 percent, than Haley has as governor, 60 percent, among these likely GOP voters. Further, more voters believe that Trump fights for “people like you”— 81 percent to Haley’s 56 percent. Likely GOP voters are also more likely to describe Trump as “tough,” a “strong leader,” and “prepared” than Haley. However, Haley is more likely to be described as “likable.”

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The survey was taken February 5-10, 2024, among 1,483 registered voters. It has a ± three percent margin of error and coincides with other surveys showing Trump leading Haley not only in her own backyard but in Super Tuesday states as well.

Regardless of South Carolina’s results, Haley has indicated that she plans to soldier on in the primary.

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“We will go to Michigan and Super Tuesday. We have a country to save. I’m not going anywhere because I don’t want my kids to live like this,” she told CNN.

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