Former President Donald Trump is garnering majority support in the Republican primary race in Nikki Haley’s home state of South Carolina, a Tyson Group survey released this week found.
The survey showed Trump with 58 percent support in the South Carolina GOP primary race — 27 points higher than Haley, who garnered 31 percent support. Another 11 percent remain undecided.
Among Republicans specifically, Trump holds a 41-point advantage over Haley, 69 percent to the former governor’s 28 percent. Trump also holds the lead among independents, 48 percent to Haley’s 33 percent. However, Haley has the clear advantage among Democrat voters, 49 percent to Trump’s five percent:
📊 2024 South Carolina GOP Primary
• Trump — 58% (+27)
• Haley — 31%
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Undecided: 11%
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GOP: Trump 69-28%
Indie: Trump 48-33%
Dem: Haley 49-5%
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Favs
• Trump: 68-27 (+41)
• Haley: 56-33 (+23)
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Tyson Group | 1/24-26 | 543 LV | ±4.4%https://t.co/dYnEoTWnr4 pic.twitter.com/QfMuqW2kfq— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) January 26, 2024
This is significant, given that South Carolina is an open primary state, meaning registered Democrats can participate in the GOP primary. This has been one of the strategies of Haley’s campaign — namely, garnering support from non-conservatives in open primary states. Her campaign laid out this strategy in a memo released hours ahead of the New Hampshire primary results.
As Breitbart News reported:
The memo adds that 11 of the 16 Super Tuesday states have open or “semi-open” primaries. In other words, the campaign believes there is “significant fertile ground” for Haley on Super Tuesday, attracting non-conservative voters.
“After Super Tuesday, we will have a very good picture of where this race stands,” the memo reads, instructing everyone to “take a deep breath” beforehand.
In other words, regardless of the outcome of New Hampshire’s primary, Haley intends to roll along, relying on moderates and independents — not the conservative base — to help her take down Trump:
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who backs Haley, also pushed for Democrats to vote for Haley in South Carolina:
On @thepulseofnh this AM, @GovChrisSununu notes that SC primary is “even more open” than #FITN.
“In South Carolina, if you’re a Democrat, you can just walk in the door and vote. So there is a lot of opportunity there” for @NikkiHaley in #SouthCarolinaPrimary @NHGOP— NH Journal (@NewHampJournal) January 25, 2024
The survey was taken January 24-26, 2024, among 543 likely GOP primary election voters. It has a +/- 4.4 percent margin of error.
