Trump’s grip on SC tightens as Haley makes push in home state. What latest polls show

With the South Carolina primary 10 days away, several new polls show former Gov. Nikki Haley trailing far behind former President Donald Trump in her home state.

Despite Haley’s argument she performs better against President Joe Biden, Trump’s grip on the ruby red South Carolina remains strong.

A Winthrop University Poll had Trump leading Haley 65% to 29% among likely GOP primary voters.

A CBS News poll released Monday has Trump up by 35 points with a 65% to 30% lead. That poll found nearly nine in 10 of Trump’s supporters are sticking with their decision and not open to changing their minds.

Ultimately voters will decide who wins South Carolina’s Republican presidential primary.

In a state where Republican voters are overwhelmingly supporting Trump, most GOP primary voters like Haley’s time as governor, according to public polling, but just prefer the former president return to the White House.

Trump supporters who were in the state when Haley was governor say she did well as governor, but don’t think she’s strong enough to be president.

For Haley’s supporters who want to see her continue fighting for the nomination and question what they would do if faced with a rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden. Many of Haley’s supporters say they may look for a third party candidate or even write-in a name for president during the general election.

With Haley continuing to run, Trump voters see her run as being detrimental to the party and potentially hurting her future. But Haley’s supporters believe continuing to have the choice is good for the country.

Trump voters like Haley’s time as governor

Haley was a popular governor of the state, even having a 60% approval rating according to the CBS News poll.

However, her favorability rating in the Winthrop poll has dropped in the last three months as she continued to run and increased her attacks on Trump. According to Wednesday’s Winthrop poll, 56% of GOP voters in the state view her favorably, a drop from 71% in November.

But most South Carolina Republican voters just don’t want her to be president.

Cindy and Scott Simmons, of Myrtle Beach, moved to South Carolina in 2016, and were in the state for the last year of Haley’s administration as governor.

“We liked her,” Cindy Simmons said. “She seemed to run the state pretty well.”

However, they don’t view her as a strong leader now and say she’s not tough, which tracks with CBS News Poll.

CBS News found 75% of GOP voters found Trump to be a strong leader, but only 39% said that about Haley. The poll found 78% thought Trump was tough, and only 35% said that of Haley.

“Although she was a good governor. I don’t think she would make a good president,” Cindy Simmons said. “ I don’t think that she will be able to get as much done for the country as President Trump. I think President Trump has shown that he can get the country under control.”

Mike Cook, 52, of Conway, who owns a home building business, views Haley as a flip flopper.

Cook said he thinks the continued run will ruin her political career.

“She needs to drop out already,” Cook said. “The people that did like her are not liking her anymore because she flip flops and she’s just, she should drop out and not take away from Trump, especially after she said I will never ever run against Trump.”

John and Tanya Ramp, both 39, of Myrtle Beach, have lived in South Carolina since 2015. Their first few years were marked with historic flooding in the state, which necessitated evacuations.

“They had to evacuate all this area, and she had it done very meticulously. Everyone did well,” Tanya Ramp said of Haley’s management.

But they don’t like her stances of supporting Ukraine as the European nations fights off the Russian invasion.

“We have vets that can’t get health care and we have homeless that are on the streets and she’s worried about giving money to Ukraine, and helping them and there’s more people here that need help,” Tanya Ramp said.

Alison McDowell 62, of Georgetown, is a building code enforcement officer. She has lived in South Carolina her entire life.

“I don’t like Nikki Haley. I didn’t like her then (when she was governor), I don’t like her now,” McDowell said. “I don’t think she ever completes anything she starts.”

McDowell points to how Haley resigned from her role as ambassador to the United Nations.

“She says one thing and does another thing. She’s wishy washy,” McDowell said.

But contributions from Democratic donors worry Trump supporters.

“Trump got it right when he made a mistake and called her Pelosi because she’s so close to Pelosi if you asked me,” McDowell said.

Can Trump win over Haley’s voters?

According to CBS News, 78% of Haley’s voters are locked in and can’t be persuaded. And if Trump goes on to secure the nomination he may have a hard time securing support from Haley’s backers in a general election.

General election polls show Haley performs better against President Joe Biden than Trump does in a general election.

But the Winthrop University Poll found if the country had a general election rematch, 50% of all respondents in the survey, which included Democratic voters, would support Trump, and 35% would support Biden.

In a match up between Haley and Biden, the former South Carolina governor only receives 47% of the vote of support. Biden would receive 29%.

Curt Arnold, 60, of Lexington, and is the Kershaw County tax assessor, voted for Trump in 2016, but could not support the former president’s reelection in 2020.

“Trump for me is just a non-starter,” Arnold said. “I did not vote for him in 2020. After what happened on Jan. 6, I would never vote for him again. I’ve never trusted his character or his morals. But we had a choice between him and Hillary Clinton, I didn’t trust her morals and character either. I felt like it was throwing a quarter in the air.”

Arnold, who has traditionally voted Republican, said he wants Haley to stay in the race for the long term, even if it hurts the party.

“I hope she continues to be just as tough on him, I hope she stays in into the convention, even if she loses every state,” Arnold said.

If a rematch happens between Biden and Trump, Arnold said he would not vote in the presidential race, unless he finds a third party candidate that’s palatable.

“Biden is not mentally capable,” Arnold said.

Luanne Burton, 67 , a retired health care human resources director, and her husband, James, 70 of Monetta, a retired truck driver, attended Haley’s recent campaign stop in Gilbert.

“I believe that Donald Trump is for Donald Trump. I don’t think he gives one tick about America. I don’t think he cares. I think he cares about himself,” Luanne Burton said. “I think it’s important for people to be nice, and I think he’s a horrible human being.”

Luanne Burton said she would rather vote independent or write-in a candidate, if Trump won the GOP nomination.

“I wouldn’t give either one of them my vote,” said Luanne Burton, who has traditionally voted in the Republican primaries. “I’m hoping we have better choices by the time the election rolls around.”

Ben Gies, 51, of Lexington, is an electrical engineer, and supported Haley ever since she was a state representative. Gies said, however, he would look for a third party if the general election is a rematch between Trump and Biden.

“I think (Trump’s) unhinged. I think he’s got a terrible ego and he’s bad for the country,” said Gies, who has traditionally voted in the GOP primaries.

Sarah Long, 68, of White Rock, is a retired business manager for the University of South Carolina, and plans on supporting Haley in the primary.

“I voted for Trump twice and then I realized who he really was, and I just don’t vote for criminals. I mean, as far as I’m concerned, he breaks the law every way,” said Long who has traditionally voted Republican. “I have no respect for the man at all.”

Long said if she was faced with a Trump Biden rematch, she would vote for Biden.

“(Trump) is just too far off the rails,” Long said. “I think he’s going to take our country in a bad direction.”

Jess Todd, 47, of Blythewood, wants Haley to be the nominee, but said he would vote for Trump if the choice was between the former president and current president, but he prefers Haley. He added he’s worried about Trump’s electability in a general election.

“I just don’t trust any of the policies coming out of the left right now, especially border security, economic (issues), across the entire spectrum,” Todd said.

Todd is a field manager for a national construction company. He previously was in the Army and prefers someone younger in the White House.

He credits Haley for the job growth that occurred in the state.

“I just totally think that both Biden and Trump are older in age,” Todd said. “I like what she did when she was ambassador at the United Nations the way she presented herself. I understand how it was Trump’s agenda but she did it very well. I remember her as a governor for a while. I had no issues or problems with her. I like the way she says stuff.”

Should Haley keep running?

Even though Haley did not win the Iowa, New Hampshire or Nevada contests, she has stayed in the race, and has laid groundwork to campaign through at least Super Tuesday, when 15 states cast ballots.

Haley has said her main goal may not necessarily be a win Feb. 24, but rather further closing the gap between her and Trump.

When asked what a win looks like, she said, “To be competitive, to make sure we come out of South Carolina competitive just like we did New Hampshire. We just want to show that we’re continuing to be competitive. We’re continuing to give people a voice and we’re continuing to fight.”

“If I get out, you would have the longest general election in history. That’s not what Americans want,” Haley said. “South Carolinians want to vote. The people of Michigan want to vote. The people of those other 20 states, they want to vote, let them vote. That’s what should happen.”

Tanya Ramp said Haley could face voter repercussions in the future for continuing the run.

“I don’t care what she does. She just needs to know the backlash, it’s going to come back you know, that’s going to follow her,” Tanya Ramp said.

Scotty McAteer thinks Haley’s continued run is detrimental to the party.

“It can hurt Trump in the long run,” McAteer said.

Haley’s supporters want her to keep fighting, even if she trails far behind Trump.

“People still need choices,” Luanne Burton said. “Why just by acclamation, we’ve only had … two (contested) primaries … I want him to stand on the debate stage and talk about what he was going to do.”

Todd said Haley’s continued campaign doesn’t hurt her in the long run.

“It gets her name on the national stage,” Todd said. “Trump gaffed again last week talking about her husband. I think that was a strategic error.”

If Trump wins Feb. 24, and if historic trends continue, the former president’s momentum to the nomination in all likelihood is unstoppable. The winner of the SC GOP presidential primary has gone on to win the nomination every time since 1980, except for 2012.

“She’s done, (at) The end of the month, and she’ll realize it, if she doesn’t realize it. Trump has too much momentum. There’s too many supporters and there’s no way anyone’s gonna catch up,” said Bill McRobbie of Conway, who is backing Trump.

McRobbie called the continued Haley run a waste of time.

“I think she’s doing it to jockey for a better position with Washington and the government and everything,” McRobbie said. “She’s hoping she gets an offer. It’s a stepping stone by keeping her name out there.”