Closing summary
Predictions that Donald Trump would triumph over Nikki Haley in South Carolina’s Republican primary bore out, with the former president swiftly declared the winner in the fourth state to vote in the GOP’s presidential nomination process. He cheered his victory as a “great day”, and predicted victories in Michigan and the pivotal Super Tuesday primaries on 5 March. Despite her loss, Haley vowed to stay in the race, saying Trump could not beat Joe Biden in the November general election.
Here’s what else happened this evening:
Lindsey Graham, South Carolina’s Republican senator, was booed by the crowd when Trump summoned him to the podium at his victory speech. So was the state’s Republican party chair.
Trump mused about bringing forward the date of the November general election, something he said was done “in certain countries”.
Haley accused Trump and Biden of being more interested in fighting each other than uniting the country.
Exit polls conducted by CNN show that most Republicans opted for Donald Trump, while independents leaned towards Haley:
CNN exit polls in South Carolina:
— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) February 25, 2024
Republicans:
73% Trump
26% Haley
Independents:
54% Haley
43% Trump
Trump also appears to have maintained the support of the state’s evangelical voters:
CNN exit polls in South Carolina primary:
— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) February 25, 2024
White evangelical Christians:
75% Trump
24% Haley
Everyone else:
51% Haley
49% Trump
And among the GOP electorate, belief in Trump’s debunked claims of fraud in the 2020 election were widespread:
Do you think Biden legitimately won in 2020 via @CNN exit polls in South Carolina primary:
— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) February 25, 2024
33% yes, legitimately won
65% no, not legitimate
David and Wendy Witz said they voted to secure their safety in America.
“It’s scary. We now have grandchildren. And this is probably the first time in my life I’m not feeling safe in America, which I always thought was the safest place to be in the whole world,” said Wendy Witz, 65, outside of their polling place in the Sun City retirement community near Fort Mill, South Carolina.
“I mean, our security is something that’s key, inflation is key, the borders key,” said David Witz, 64. “There are so many things that are going wrong in our country right now. And we need somebody to come in and change it. We feel very strongly about this election, more so than I think any other election that I’ve been involved in my life. And, you know, there’s just one man to do the job. It’s not Nikki Haley.”
“Voting for Nikki Haley is like chicken voting for Colonel Sanders. All you’re going to do is get fried,” he said. “So, I think it’s the wrong vote. I think she’s funded by the Democratic Party. I think she is a RINO. And I don’t think she represents the conservative Republican Party. But I think Donald Trump does.”
“I felt safe with Trump, those four years,” said Wendy Witz. “Do I agree with his personality at all times? And the way he speaks? No. But when he speaks up to other countries and draws a line in the sand, and they don’t cross it, that is what I respect. And that’s what we need in the presidency.”
Retired commercial property agent Ben Orm, 78, lives in the Sun City retirement community near Rock Hill, and voted for Nikki Haley.
“I really don’t like Donald Trump. I voted for him the second time he ran. I think he’s way better than Joe Biden. But I would rather she get a shot at it,” he said.
Orm wants to see improvements to border security, accountability for street crime and a broadly conservative – or libertarian – approach to the economy. The problem, Orm said, is Trump’s personality. “There’s a lot of his policies that I’ve stuck with, but I’d sure like to see somebody else in there do just as good a job.”
Nikki Haley argued to her supporters that neither of her opponents were interested in uniting the country.
“Does anyone seriously think Joe Biden or Donald Trump will unite our country to solve our problems?” the former South Carolina governor asked.
”One of them calls his fellow Americans fascists. The other calls his fellow Americans vermin. They aren’t fighting for our country’s future. They’re demanding we fight each other.”
Nikki Haley made clear she intends to remain in the race through Super Tuesday, as the 5 March election when 15 states will weigh in on the Republican presidential race is known.
“South Carolina has spoken,” she said. “We’re the fourth state to do so. In the next ten days, another 21 states and territories will speak. They have the right to a real choice, not a Soviet-style election with only one candidate. And I have a duty to give them that choice.”
Haley vows to stay in race, argues Trump cannot beat Biden
Nikki Haley said she will stay in the presidential race despite losing the Republican primary in her home state South Carolina, arguing Donald Trump cannot beat Joe Biden in November.
“This has never been about me or my political future. We need to beat Joe Biden in November. I don’t believe Donald Trump can beat Joe Biden,” the state’s former governor told her supporters in Charleston.
“I said earlier this week that no matter what happens in South Carolina, I would continue to run for president. I’m a woman of my word. I’m not giving up this fight when a majority of Americans disapprove of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden.”
Per the South Carolina election commission, Donald Trump leads with 59% of the vote compared to Nikki Haley’s 40%.
However, that’s with only 2.17% of counties reporting. Polls taken shortly before the election showed Trump with a lead of about 30 percentage points over Haley.
South Carolina Republican state senator Penry Gustafson met voters outside a church in Lancaster on Saturday, shoring up re-election support among the party faithful. She’s got work to do.
After knocking off a longtime Democratic legislator in 2020 as one of the five female “sister senators”, she helped block a total abortion ban by the South Carolina legislature last year. “I’m probably the one who risked the most because I had the most Republican area,” Gustafson said. “I’m a Republican and so it’s not popular. I mean, I’ve been called a RINO baby killer now for two years. But … there’s a lot of things that are wrong about that bill.”
Talk on the campaign trail has turned toward in vitro fertilization. Gustafson is concerned that potential fetal personhood legislation might put South Carolina in the same boat as Alabama.
“This morning, I spent a good chunk of time writing a piece of legislation concerning IVF and making sure that is protected and not at risk,” she said.
“We don’t have that issue right now in South Carolina, but it has been intimated from the floor and in private conversations that there’s a group of people who want to go after IVF and make it illegal. I’m telling you what: that ain’t happening.”
Gustafson is on the campaign trail for Donald Trump, but has no animosity for former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley.
“She worked hard. She is a smart, dynamic woman and I like her a lot. I’m proud of her and so glad that she’s running. She is providing a choice and I think that’s very important,” she said.
“My pick is someone who’s done it before. He’s got the experience. He can go in there and dramatically improve things very quickly as far as our geopolitical stance, immigration, and our economy. It’s kind of scary what’s happened in our country and it doesn’t matter if I like him or not. Can he do the job? Well, he can. He will.”
Updated
Donald Trump often muses about having powers that he does not have, and tonight was no exception.
Onstage after his win in the South Carolina primary, Trump talked about how he was looking forward to taking on Joe Biden in November, then remarked: “Nine months is a long time. I just wish we could do it quicker.”
“In certain countries, you’re allowed to call your election date. If I had the right to do it, I do it tomorrow. I’d say we’re having an election,” Trump said.
It turns out Donald Trump’s supporters in South Carolina are not as enthusiastic about prominent politicians from the state who support the former president.
In addition to senator Lindsey Graham, the state’s GOP chair Drew McKissick was also booed when Trump called on him:
South Carolina Republican Party Chair Drew McKissick is loudly booed by the crowd at Donald Trump’s victory party.
— The Recount (@therecount) February 25, 2024
“We have a highly opinionated crowd.” pic.twitter.com/sY5d0OjEi9
And here’s the cold reception Graham received when Trump invited him to the podium:
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) takes the stage to loud boos at Donald Trump’s victory party. Some shouts of “traitor” are also audible.” pic.twitter.com/4dwoK9gtRA
— The Recount (@therecount) February 25, 2024
Another voter named John, who declined to provide his last name, cast his ballot for Donald Trump at the main branch of the Charleston county public library this afternoon.
“He is the best president in my lifetime,” John said. “I’ve never had a time in my life – and I’ve been around a long time – where I woke up for four straight years and felt the country was in great hands.”
John applauded Haley’s performance as governor of South Carolina, but he argued she should have dropped out of the presidential race “once it was very obvious” that Trump was going to win. Trump has already won the first three voting contests in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.
“I was a big Nikki fan. I still am actually. I thought she was a wonderful governor of South Carolina,” he said. “But I have the template for a guy that served four years as my president, and I know how I felt under Trump. I love Nikki as a governor. I love Trump as my president.”
Donald Trump’s victory speech has mostly been a lovefest – until he called up the state’s US senator Lindsey Graham.
Graham, who famously predicted in 2016, “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed” but nonetheless became an ally, was greeted with an awkward combination of boos and cheers from the crowd.
“He happens to be a little bit further left than some of the people on this stage. But I always say when I’m in trouble on the left, I call up Lindsey Graham, and he straightens it out,” Trump said as he introduced Graham, noting: “I love him. He’s a good man.”
“This is the most qualified man to be president of the United States and let it be said that South Carolina created the biggest political comeback in American history,” Graham said as he took the stage.
Updated
Trump hails 'great day' after South Carolina victory
Minutes after his victory in the South Carolina Republican primary was confirmed, Donald Trump appeared on stage in Columbia before a crowd of supporters.
“It’s a great day,” the former president said. He then turned to the contests to come.
“Michigan’s up and we’re gonna have a tremendous success there and then we have a thing called Super Tuesday,” he said, referring to the 15 states that vote on 5 March.
“We’re going to be up here on November 5, and we’re going to look at Joe Biden, and we’re gonna look him right in the eye. He’s destroying our country, and we’re gonna say, Joe, you’re fired. Get out.”
Updated
While we don’t have his margin of victory yet, all indications point to a landslide win for Donald Trump in South Carolina.
The Associated Press, which tracks these things very closely, called the race a minute after polls closed. It’s not much of a surprise – the latest opinion surveys of the state’s Republican voters showed him with a 30-point advantage over Nikki Haley.
His victory in South Carolina adds to an unbroken streak of wins in the early voting states, after clinching victory in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.
Trump wins South Carolina primary
Donald Trump has won the Republican presidential primary in South Carolina, the Associated Press reports.
Updated
Polls close in South Carolina's Republican primary
Polls across South Carolina have now closed in the state’s Republican presidential primary.
Polls set to close in South Carolina's Republican primary
We are five minutes away from 7pm, when polls are closing in South Carolina’s Republican primary.
Donald Trump is facing off against the state’s former governor Nikki Haley, who is his last major challenger for the party’s nomination. Trump has won all of the states that have voted thus far in the Republican nomination process, and polls show him with an overwhelming advantage in the Palmetto state. Despite that, Haley and her campaign staff said repeatedly this week that she does not plan to quit.
We rely on the Associated Press to call the outcomes of elections, and will let you know when they determine the winner in South Carolina.
Greeting from Nikki Haley’s primary night event in Charleston, which is being held in the chandelier ballroom of a luxury downtown hotel.
Supporters have adopted Haley’s “happy warrior” mentality. Her team is still selling “barred permanently” shirts and “women for Haley” pins in the lobby – a sign of the steady stream of donations that is sustaining her longshot campaign.
Inside, Fox News is on the big screens with the volume on loud. The network just interviewed Trumpworld spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt from the former president’s campaign night event in Columbia. In the interview, which blared across the ballroom, Leavitt derided Haley as “delusion.” Shortly after the interview aired, the Haley campaign muted the TV and turned on the music.
Vincent DiMauro, 80, cast a ballot for Nikki Haley this afternoon at the main branch of the Charleston county public library because he believes Donald Trump represents a threat to the nation.
“I want to see the country survive, and I don’t think it will under Trump,” DiMauro said. “He’s totally out of control. He has no respect for other human beings.”
While acknowledging that he did not agree with Haley on every single issue, DiMauro said he would absolutely support her over 81-year-old Joe Biden.
“I’m 80. I can’t be president. I know what my limitations are,” DiMauro said. “He’s just not mentally or physically capable of performing the job as it should be over the next four years.”
Voting began at 7am in South Carolina, and is set to wrap up in less than 30 minutes. Here are some scenes from across the state today as Republican voters cast ballots:
Trump aims for victory in South Carolina primary as former governor Haley makes stand
Good evening, US politics blog readers. Donald Trump is likely about an hour away from notching another win in his quest to clinch the Republican presidential nomination, this time in South Carolina, where voters have spent the day casting ballots in the GOP primary. Polls close at 7pm ET in the Palmetto State, which is, of course, the home of Nikki Haley, the former governor who is Trump’s last remaining major rival for the GOP nomination. She may have roots in the state, but surveys have repeatedly shown Trump with a major lead over Haley, who has yet to win a single state in the nomination process thus far, but insists she will not quit her campaign. Surprise are always possible, and we’ll find out soon if any are in store for tonight.
Here’s what else we’re looking for from South Carolina’s Republican primary:
How much support will either candidate receive? While Haley insists she does not plan to quit, a terrible showing will nonetheless up pressure on her to exit the race.
What do exit polls tell us about Haley’s base of support? There are signs from previous states like New Hampshire that Haley’s voters are more moderate than Trump. Should he win the nomination, its unclear if they will come out for the former president in swing states where their votes matter most.
What more will Trump say, should he win? He already made headlines earlier today, when he vowed his election would be “judgment day” for his enemies.
Updated
