The political landscape of South Carolina is set for a significant event as former President Donald Trump and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley prepare to face off in the state's Republican primary on Feb. 24. The contest marks the first head-to-head matchup for the last two remaining major candidates since the New Hampshire primary a month ago.
Background
Nikki Haley, who served as South Carolina's governor for six years before stepping down in 2017 to serve as UN ambassador when Trump was elected president, is going up against Trump on her home turf.
Despite her history and ties to the state, Haley faces stiff competition from Trump, who enjoys widespread support within the party, leads in recent polls, and enjoys high popularity among conservatives.
Both candidates have made sharp attacks against each other. Trump has used derisive nicknames for Haley and played down her work in his Cabinet. On the other hand, Haley has increasingly questioned Trump's fitness for office, most recently criticizing his comments on Russia and NATO.
Notably, Haley criticized Trump for his delayed response to Navalny's death and his failure to condemn Russian President Putin. She said the former president is "weak in the knees" for Russia, criticizing him for his adversarial stance towards NATO while overlooking Russian aggression in Ukraine.
"Trump is siding with a dictator who kills his political opponents," said the former UN ambassador.
"Trump sided with an evil man over our allies who stood with us on 9/11. Think about what that told them."
Meanwhile, Trump has also launched aggressive attacks on Nikki Haley and mocked her husband, Maj. Michael Haley, during a rally in Conway, South Carolina.
"Where's her husband? Oh, he's away. He's away. What happened to her husband? What happened to her husband? Where is he? He's gone. He knew. He knew."
Trump's Dominance
According to a poll released by Winthrop University, Trump has a substantial lead over Haley. The poll shows that 65% of likely voters in the state would vote for Trump, which is a 36% lead over Haley. Among the Republican voters, an overwhelming 72% would vote for Trump. These figures indicate Trump's stronghold over the Republican base in South Carolina.
Haley's Challenge
Despite the odds, Haley has not backed down. She has been using the closing days of the South Carolina GOP primary to hone her argument that she is the lone remaining candidate who can unite Americans.
Interestingly, independent voters are more evenly split between the two candidates. Of those likely to vote in the primary, Winthrop University poll shows that 42% backed Haley compared to 42.6% for Trump. This suggests that Haley's message may be resonating with voters who are not strongly aligned with either party.
The primary will be held on Saturday, and polls will close statewide at 7 p.m. EST. The ballot will list Ryan Binkley, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, David Stuckenberg, and Trump. South Carolina has an open primary system, which means any registered voter may participate in any party's primary.
