Trump holds 35-point lead in Haley’s home state of South Carolina: Poll

Former President Trump is leading GOP challenger Nikki Haley in her home state of South Carolina by 35 points in a new poll as the two White House hopefuls ramp up campaign efforts ahead of the state’s primary later this month.

Tuesday’s CBS News/YouGov poll found Haley shored up 30 percent of likely GOP voters in the Palmetto State, while Trump secured 65 percent.

Despite disappointing losses in New Hampshire, Iowa and Nevada, Haley has expressed confidence that voters from South Carolina will support her after she served as the state’s governor from 2011 to 2017.

Pollsters, however, found this might not be the case. In a sample of 1,004 likely GOP voters in South Carolina, 75 percent said it makes no difference that Haley is from their state. About 20 percent said it makes them more likely to vote for her, and 5 percent said it makes them less likely.

When it comes to approval ratings for their respective times in office, Trump also scored higher, the poll found. About 82 percent of survey participants said they approved of Trump’s job as president, while 15 percent disapproved. Haley’s approval rating as governor was 22 points lower, at 60 percent approval and 22 percent disapproval.

Haley, who also served as United Nations ambassador during Trump’s administration, came across as more “likable” than Trump, with 52 percent of respondents saying that word described her well, compared to 32 percent who said the same of the former president.

More GOP primary voters applied descriptors including “tough,” “prepared” and a “strong leader” to Trump than to Haley, however, per the poll. Eighty-one percent of voters also said the former president “fights” for people like them, while 56 percent said the same of Haley.

Voters in the Palmetto State also poured cold water on Haley’s argument that she has a better chance than Trump to beat President Biden in the general election.

About 55 percent said Trump “would definitely beat Biden,” while 33 percent said the same for Haley. A larger share said she “might” defeat the president, at 42 percent, several points more than the 34 percent who said so of Trump. But 25 percent said it is a long shot for Haley to beat Biden, compared to 11 percent who said the same for Trump.

The majority of the state’s likely Trump voters surveyed in the poll don’t see his various legal battles as a reason to consider Haley instead, with 77 percent disagreeing with the argument and only 23 percent agreeing.

Forty-nine percent of all GOP primary voters polled said the former president is fit to be president if convicted of a crime, while 22 percent said he is not and 29 percent said it depends on the charge.

Both candidates have turned their focus toward South Carolina, holding a series of rallies ahead of the state’s Feb. 24 primary. Haley launched a two-week bus tour across the state last Saturday.

According to polling averages maintained by The Hill and Decision Desk HQ, Trump leads Haley by more than 30 points in South Carolina and more than 60 points nationally.

The CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted among 1,483 registered voters in South Carolina between Feb. 5-10, including 1,004 likely Republican primary voters. The margin of error for the sample is 3 points.