After a seismic loss in Nevada, can Nikki Haley's home state boost her campaign?

The stakes are high for presidential hopeful Nikki Haley in her home state as she faces an uphill battle before the state's Republican Presidential Preference Primary on Feb. 24. But the former governor says she’s accustomed to being the “underdog.”

“I’ve always been David taking on Goliath,” Haley said during an intimate rally in downtown Greenville on Tuesday, Feb. 20.

She's lost all three presidential primary elections so far in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. Still, she’s hoping to take her campaign all the way, and as she’s pointed out on the trail, she’s always been able to come back in the past.

South Carolinian supporters hope to see Haley remain in the race – even if she loses in the state.

"I think staying in as long as she can afford to is a good thing because it gives the people a choice," Greenville resident Cynthia Long said at Tuesday's event.

Even if Haley loses to Trump by a margin larger than 10 points, Long said she hopes to see Haley stay in the race "all the way to the convention."

Politicos speculate on the lifespan of Haley’s campaign. Nate Leupp, 4^th Congressional District Club leader with the South Carolina Republican Party, theorized that Haley might stay in at least until Super Tuesday. Still, Leupp said that her campaign is over whether or not she’s ready to admit it.

"The money is going to dry up extremely quickly, especially if she loses in South Carolina," Leupp said.

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A defiant Haley says she has been the underdog in every race she’s participated in

After her devastating loss in Nevada in early February, where the option for “none of these candidates” won over Haley with 62% of the vote in the state’s primary, the GOP nominee hopeful still looks forward to the state she once governed to bolster her campaign.

Haley’s been on a losing streak ever since primary season kicked off with the Iowa Caucuses on Jan. 15. After losing Iowa's caucus, she went on to lose New Hampshire and Nevada, too. Still, throughout her campaign, she’s reminded voters being an underdog is not unusual for her, but she always bounces back.

Though some political figures predict Haley’s campaign cannot come back from her losses and ranks among polls, her history paints a lifelong status as the longshot.

In 2004, Haley successfully unseated a 30-year incumbent, Larry Koon, in the race for the South Carolina House of Representatives District 87. In 2010, when Haley ran for governor, she consistently came in fourth place after Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, current Gov. Henry McMaster and former U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, until an endorsement from Sarah Palin launched her to the front.

Despite today’s calls for Haley to dismantle her campaign, she remains steadfast.

On Feb. 20, she gave a “State of the Race” speech to a small crowd in downtown Greenville. Many speculated she was dropping out. Within minutes of the speech, she cleared the rumor. She was “far from” it.

A consistent response from Haley for not stepping out of the race is that America holds "elections, not coronations."

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Haley claims she and her campaign expected the loss to “none of these candidates” in Nevada.

"That’s why we didn’t spend a day or dollar there," Haley said during a press conference during the first stop of her "Beast of the Southeast" bus tour in Newberry on Feb. 10.

"They planned the caucus, they sealed up all the delegates and then they coordinated an effort, the (Nevada) governor was included to get everybody to vote ‘none of these candidates. We knew this was going to happen," Haley said, deeming Nevada’s primary as a "scam."

On the night before the Nevada primary, Haley campaigned in Spartanburg. Right after her loss in New Hampshire, she immediately headed to Palmetto state to continue campaigning for the primary on Feb. 24, completely skipping over Nevada entirely.

Nevada held both a primary and a caucus. Although the state held a caucus for decades, the state passed a law replacing the caucus with a primary in 2021. Republicans, upset with the new system, then chose to hold a caucus. The state party then made two rules: only the results of the caucus would allocate delegates and those who participate in the primary cannot participate in the caucus.

Voters agree with Haley – Nevada was meant to be a setup.

"I think whenever Donald Trump says things are a scam, everyone just agrees. I think when she said it, people didn’t," Collin Huskey, 24, told the Greenville News at a rally in Greer on Feb. 19. "I've seen the effort that she put in in New Hampshire. I've seen the effort she's put in in South Carolina. I didn't really think she put in any effort there, so I don't know that she was truly expecting it to go any anything different way."

Voters who joined Haley on the campaign trail are hopeful she will stay in the race.

Ignoring Nevada, Haley continued to venture across Palmetto State. She also made a point to visit states that will be included in Super Tuesday on March 5, like Texas and California.

Right after South Carolina’s primary, Haley intends to pivot to the states voting in Super Tuesday on March 5. The rest of February, beginning Sunday, Feb. 25, includes visiting states like Michigan, Colorado and Utah, according to a press release from Haley’s campaign.

The rallies show no indication of slowing down.

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Most politicos say there’s no future for Haley’s campaign

Despite her defiance and pledge to stay in the race no matter what, both polling and politicos do not see a victory for Haley in her home state.

A Winthrop University poll released Feb. 14 shows 65% of likely voters in South Carolina support the nomination of former president Donald Trump, representing a 36% lead over Haley. Another poll from Marquette Law School shows Haley leading over President Joe Biden by 16 points.  The same poll shows former President Donald Trump and Biden neck and neck at 49% each.

A poll from USA TODAY and Suffolk University indicates Trump’s lead by 63% to Haley’s 35%.  Politicos recognize South Carolina as "Trump country."

"Any politico, love him or hate him, would have to make that statement," Leupp said.

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In 2020, Trump secured South Carolina with 55% of the vote, while President Joe Biden earned 43%. In 2016, Trump won 32% of the vote in the state’s Republican presidential preference primary.

Others don’t expect Haley to drop any time soon, even in defeat.

Her campaign efforts show momentum. In January, Haley representatives said January was the campaign’s strongest month in terms of financing as they raised $16.5 million from all campaign committees.

Despite Trump threatening Haley’s donors would be “barred permanently” from the Make America Great Again camp if they contributed to the campaign, funders continue to support Haley’s campaign, not acknowledging the former president’s threats.

The campaign used Trump’s threats to its advantage by selling 20,000 T-shirts reading “Barred. Permanently.” Supporters following Haley on the campaign trail can often be found bearing these shirts.

"Why get out now?" U.S. Congressman Ralph Norman, a staunch supporter of Haley throughout her campaign, said, adding that her campaign has an "electricity" to it. "She isn’t going anywhere."

Savannah Moss covers Greenville County politics and growth/development. She will also be covering Nikki Haley's campaign for the News. Reach her at smoss@gannett.com or follow her on X @savmoss.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Nikki Haley looks to home state of South Carolina for campaign boost