Location changed for Nikki Haley’s rally in Bluffton on Monday. Why she’s moving to USCB

Republican presidential candidate and former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley is moving a scheduled Bluffton rally to the University of South Carolina Beaufort at 2 p.m. Monday.

According to Haley’s campaign team, the move from the previous location at the Okatie Ale House was made to accommodate a larger crowd than initially expected.

The event is open to the public. Tickets are free, but registration is required via eventbrite.com.

Haley, a former ambassador to the United Nations and a Bamberg native, holds a firm grasp on second place in the state’s primary contest in the most recent power rankings reported in The State newspaper Nov. 14.

She received 28 points in the ranking behind former President Donald Trump’s 35 points. The power rankings result from reporter Joe Bustos’ polling of seven political observers in South Carolina to rank their top five candidates according to who they believe would have the best chance to win the state’s Republican presidential primary.

Haley’s statewide poll numbers have climbed recently, making her the clear second-place candidate in South Carolina and in several recent polls of New Hampshire voters, according to reporting in The State. She also recently was tied for second place with DeSantis in a Des Moines Register poll of Iowa voters.

Poll respondents have been taking notice of Haley’s strong debate performances.

“Haley is charging to be the top alternative to Trump. She’s strong on the debate stage and proved it again in Miami, especially in her handling of Vivek Ramaswamy and branding him the preferred candidate of Russia and China,” said Adolphus Belk, a Winthrop University political science professor.

But Haley still has work to do. “Nikki Haley’s momentum is real, and she has emerged as the most likely Trump alternative in the Palmetto State,” said Gibbs Knotts, a political science professor at the College of Charleston. “She has benefited from three strong debate performances, particularly when she can showcase her foreign policy experience.”