Haley Trails Trump by 36 Points in South Carolina, After Loss to ‘None of These Candidates’ in Nevada

Fresh off a humiliating defeat at the hands of “none of these candidates” in Nevada’s primary, Ambassador Nikki Haley is trailing President Trump in her home state of South Carolina by 36 points, less than two weeks before the primary there.South Carolina’s primaries are open, meaning that independent voters can participate. A new survey by Winthrop University found that, among likely voters, Mrs. Haley is trailing Mr. Trump 64.9 percent to 28.7 percent. Among Republicans polled, Mr. Trump’s support expanded to 72.4 percent to Mrs. Haley’s 24.1 percent.Among independents, Mrs. Haley fared better, enjoying 42.3 percent support compared to Mr. Trump’s 42.6 percent.The survey also found that Mrs. Haley’s prolonged political battle with Mr. Trump has negatively affected her favorability among Republicans in the state.“Haley losing to ‘None of these candidates’ in the Nevada primary while our survey was in the field certainly couldn’t have helped her cause in our poll of Likely Voters in South Carolina,” pollster Scott Huffmon wrote in a memo accompanying the poll. “One of the most notable findings was the drop in Haley’s favorability ratings in her home state.”Among Republicans, Mrs. Haley’s favorability dropped to 56 percent in February from 71 percent in November. At the same time, the proportion of Republicans who view Mrs. Haley unfavorably rose to 33 percent in February from 16 percent in November.According to Mr. Huffmon, Mrs. Haley’s favorability in South Carolina hasn’t taken a hit like this since “she defied the Tea Party and endorsed Mitt Romney in the GOP primary” in 2012.“This would seem to indicate that in South Carolina, as apparently in the nation as a whole, that the Republican Party is very much Trump’s party,” Mr. Huffmon wrote.That Mrs. Haley is on track for a crushing defeat in her home state of South Carolina raises the question: Why is she still in the race? As it stands Mrs. Haley isn’t even set to clear the little-known requirement that GOP candidates win the plurality of delegates from at least five states in order to even have their name read at the convention.Mr. Huffmon tells the Sun that part of the reason Mrs. Haley is still in the race could be that she didn’t realize she would face such an uphill battle in her home state.Alternatively, Mr. Huffmon suggests that there could be two reasons to stay in, saying: “First, Trump has the amazing ability to make up with people.”Mr. Huffmon pointed to Senators Graham, Cruz, and Rubio, all of whom fought bitter personal battles with Mr. Trump and now appear to be in his good graces.“The past has shown that he’s willing to make up with people who have shown their fealty to him,” Mr. Huffmon says. Either way, Mr. Huffmon says, Mrs. Haley’s political career has been marked by being often underestimated, and though he doesn’t see a realistic path to the nomination in 2024, she might still be able to gain politically from staying in the race.“Nikki Haley is someone who has always made her bones on being underestimated. What seems like irrational behavior from the outside — she has been able to turn it around,” Mr. Huffmon says. “She’s always been able to spin silk out of a sow’s ear.”

Haley Trails Trump by 36 Points in South Carolina, After Loss to ‘None of These Candidates’ in Nevada

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