South Carolina GOP primary: Trump projected to win as Haley vows to stay in race
Donald Trump is projected to win the South Carolina primary, The Associated Press said early Saturday evening.
The polls closed at 7 p.m. E.T. and the projection was made just minutes after that using an analysis of AP VoteCast, a comprehensive survey of Republican South Carolina primary voters. FOX News also called the race for Trump within minutes after the polls closed.
This is the fourth straight win for Trump who had a huge polling lead and the backing of the state's top Republicans, including Sen. Tim Scott, a former rival in the race.
Trump has now swept every contest that counted for Republican delegates, adding to previous wins in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The former president’s latest victory will likely increase pressure on Haley, who was Trump’s former representative to the U.N. and South Carolina governor from 2011 to 2017, to leave the race.
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"I have never seen the Republican Party so unified as it is right now," Trump declared, taking the stage for his victory speech mere moments after polls closed. He added, "You can celebrate for about 15 minutes, but then we have to get back to work."
South Carolina’s first-in-the-South primary has historically been a reliable bellwether for Republicans. In all but one primary since 1980, the Republican winner in South Carolina has gone on to be the party’s nominee. The lone exception was Newt Gingrich in 2012.
Trump was dominant across the state, even leading in Lexington County, which Haley represented in the state Legislature. Many Trump-backing South Carolinians, even some who previously supported Haley during her time as governor, weren't willing to give her a home-state bump.
However, Haley said she is staying in the GOP presidential primary race despite her loss in her home state.
"I’m a woman of my word. I’m not giving up this fight when a majority of Americans disapprove of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden," she told supporters.
"She’s done some good things," Davis Paul, 36, said about Haley as he waited for Trump at a recent rally in Conway. "But I just don’t think she’s ready to tackle a candidate like Trump. I don’t think many people can."
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Haley also criticized Trump on his NATO comments and also for questioning why her husband wasn’t on the campaign trail with her — even as former first lady Melania Trump hasn’t appeared with him. Maj. Michael Haley is deployed in the Horn of Africa on a mission with the South Carolina Army National Guard.
But South Carolina’s Republican voters line up with Trump on having lukewarm feelings about NATO and continued U.S. support for Ukraine, according to AP VoteCast data from Saturday’s primary. About 6 in 10 oppose continuing aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Only about a third described America’s participation in NATO as "very good," with more saying it’s only "somewhat good."
Haley has raised copious amounts of campaign money and is scheduled to begin a cross-country campaign swing on Sunday in Michigan ahead of Super Tuesday on March 5, when many delegate-rich states hold primaries.
But it’s unclear how she can stop Trump from clinching enough delegates to become the party’s presumptive nominee for the third time.
The Associated Press and FOX News contributed to this report. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.