'Sooner than we anticipated': Trump bests Haley on her home turf of South Carolina: 5 takeaways

Donald Trump's winning streak continued Saturday after he easily defeated former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in her political backyard.

The victory adds to the former president's delegate lead in his pursuit of the 2024 Republican presidential nomination after besting her in previous primaries and caucuses in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.

But by handily winning the Palmetto State − where voters twice elected Haley as their chief executive − Trump may have sent a final, decisive message that despite multiple criminal indictments and massive civil judgments from fraud cases, he remains the GOP's top dog.

"I have never seen the Republican party so unified, as it is right now," Trump said during Saturday's victory speech.

Haley's underdog bid now shifts to carpet bombing the airwaves in the 15 states that will cast their ballots on March 5, known as Super Tuesday, where a hefty 874 Republican delegates will be up for grabs.

Here are five takeaways from Saturday's contest.

Trump wins within minutes, ignores Haley

If you blinked after the polls closed at 7 p.m. EST, then you would have missed it when multiple news outlets immediately called the race for Trump.

The former president never seemed to sweat the outcome either. He told supporters a day before the election that "honestly we're not very worried."

"This was a little sooner than we anticipated," Trump said Saturday evening.

Trump's popularity in the state hasn't wavered since his 2016 bid, and polls − including an exclusive USA TODAY/Suffolk University survey − showed him with a consistent and commanding 2-to-1 lead.

Joined by prominent South Carolina Republicans on stage, Trump avoided taking any shots at his former U.N. ambassador by name.

That is notably different from a month ago when he railed about how Haley should drop out after he won in New Hampshire.

Instead, Trump mocked how the "none of these candidates" option received more votes than her in the Nevada primary.

Haley is staying in the GOP primary − for now

Haley's chances were always bleak, but after losing South Carolina there will likely be a deluge of critics questioning the point of her staying in the race.

The former U.N. ambassador has yet to win a single primary election, and it is rare for anyone to be their party's nominee after being rejected by their home state.

When Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., lost his home state primary to Trump in 2016, for instance, he bowed out quickly.

Haley repeated her promise to stay in the race on Saturday, reiterating that she doesn't believe Trump can defeat President Joe Biden in the fall and that the roughly 40% margin of the vote she held at the time she spoke is significant.

"America will come apart if we make the wrong choices," she said.

But Trump leads in most state and national surveys as his allies are poised to takeover the Republican National Committee, which will further fuel uncertainty about her chances.

Trump's veep-stakes to take center stage?

As much as experts will pick apart the South Carolina results and make bets on Haley’s chances ahead, many Republicans backing Trump have been ready to move on.

That means other issues could begin to eclipse the remaining primary contests, such as who he will pick to be his 2024 running mate.

VEEPSTAKES: Donald Trump's campaign says Ron DeSantis isn't on Trump's list of candidates for VP

The CPAC straw poll conducted Saturday shows conservative activists think South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are the best choices.

The two tied at 15% among attendees, who are looked at as a pulse of what Republican base voters want.

But there are several other GOP players who are viewed as likely contenders, such as Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who joined Trump on the trail after he bowed out of the presidential contest weeks ago.

RNC member standing up to Trump

One shot in the arm for Haley’s long-shot bid could be a move by a Republican National Committee member who wants to stall Trump’s takeover.

Henry Barbour, a national committeeman from Mississippi, submitted two draft resolutions, according to The Associated Press.

The first says the RNC must remain neutral for the remainder of the primary, and not hire anyone from the active campaigns until a nominee is named.

Barbour's other resolution says the RNC will not pay the legal bills of any candidate, which is clearly about Trump’s mounting court costs.

This echoes a warning Haley has been sounding about Trump looking to insert allies into key positions within the organization. She said the RNC has a responsibility to hire people who are "going to look out in the best interest of all of the Republican Party, not just one person."

Michigan's primary up next

The 2024 presidential election now turns to Michigan, where both parties will hold their primaries on Feb. 27.

That gives Haley another bite at the apple, but just as intriguing will be a fight on the Democratic side.

Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, has been rallying urging progressive voters to pick "uncommitted" over President Joe Biden due to his support for Israel in its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

That could prove to be the more compelling contest at this rate.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump quickly bests Haley in her home state of SC: 5 takeaways