With Gov. Ron DeSantis out of the Republican presidential race, Primary battles around the country are Donald Trump’s to lose.
This is particularly true in South Carolina, where a survey shows former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley barely has a third of Trump’s backing among 402 voters expected to vote in the Feb. 24 Presidential Primary.
Trump has 65% in the survey by the FAU Political Communication and Public Opinion Research Lab (PolCom Lab) and Mainstreet Research, with Haley at 23%.
“Trump looks very strong in South Carolina, leading Haley handily and holding a wide advantage over Biden in a potential general election matchup,” said Kevin Wagner, Co-Director of FAU’s PolCom Lab and professor of political science. “Trump’s dominance here sets the stage for a decisive victory in the first in the south primary, while confirming South Carolina’s status as a solid red state in the 2024 general election.”
Haley has 67% support with Democrats intending to crossover and vote Republican as a protest against Trump, but this pollster sees that cohort as being less than 10% of the total Primary electorate.
Notes on methodology: “The analysis in this report is based on results of a survey conducted from Thursday, Feb. 1 to Thursday, Feb. 8, among a sample of 679 adults, 18 years or older, living in South Carolina. It was conducted using a text message survey of registered voters and an online panel of registered voters, so a margin of error cannot be assigned.”
