Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is charging into her home state as the next GOP presidential primary, the next head-to-head matchup between her and former President Trump, looms next month.
She came in a distant second in New Hampshire’s Republican primary on Tuesday, and she is trailing in the South Carolina polls.
The Hill / Decision Desk HQ analysis shows that out of 31 recent polls, Trump has kept a commanding lead in the South Carolina match-up with a 33.7 percent advantage in the first-in-the-South primary. The latest polls show Trump ahead 61 percent to Haley’s 27.3 percent in South Carolina.
A pro-Trump pollster last week released the latest update in the race, predicting: “President Trump is set to deliver a South Carolina smackdown to Nikki Haley in her home state where she is best known.”
But Haley isn’t backing down.
Haley will be rallying voters in the Palmetto State through the weekend and heading into the Feb. 24 vote.
“This race is far from over. There are dozens of states left to go, and the next one is my sweet state of South Carolina,” she said in a speech Tuesday after losing to Trump in New Hampshire.
She also challenged Trump, who has eschewed all previous GOP candidate debates, to take the debate stage with her.
“Bring it Donald, show me what you got,” she said.
Haley has launched a blistering ad in her home state, highlighting her track record in South Carolina and deeming President Biden “too old” to serve another term and accusing Trump of generating “too much chaos.”
Haley, seen as a rising star among the GOP base when she became the nation’s youngest governor at 38 in 2011, was Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations when he took office in 2016.
Trump surrounded himself during a victory event in New Hampshire on Tuesday with South Carolina Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, who Haley appointed to the Senate in 2013. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) also endorsed Trump over Haley, as have many state and local Republicans.
Trump’s scheduled to be in Nevada this weekend and has no South Carolina rallies on his public schedule at this point. His campaign and a political action committee supporting the candidate didn’t immediately respond to The Hill’s request for details on Trump’s plans for the Palmetto State in the coming weeks ahead of the primary there.
A spokesperson for the South Carolina Republican Party told The Hill that they expect Trump will have upcoming events but referred to the campaign for any other info. The party hasn’t taken a position in the race.
“Therefore, we do not get involved with anything that may handicap any of the candidates or their campaigns,” the spokesperson said.
Official voter turnout predictions haven’t been released yet, but in the 2016 election cycle – the last time South Carolina voters had a say in a competitive GOP presidential primary – nearly 750,000 Republicans cast ballots.
