Former President Donald Trump cruised to victory in the South Carolina Republican primary Saturday, delivering an embarrassing — and perhaps crippling — setback for Nikki Haley in her political backyard.
The race was called for Mr. Trump shortly after the polls closed at 7 p.m. Early unofficial tallies showed him at 59.8% (451,905 votes) over Ms. Haley’s 39.5% (298,681) as 98% of the precincts were counted. Fifty delegates are at stake in South Carolina, and 1,215 delegates are needed for the nomination.
Mr. Trump is undefeated in the opening nomination contests, and barring a surprise, appears to be well on his way to wrapping up the party’s presidential nomination.
“I have never seen the Republican Party so unified as it is right now,” Mr. Trump said, taking the stage for his victory speech mere moments after the polls closed. “You can celebrate for about 15 minutes, but then we have to get back to work.”
That has been more and more evident on the campaign trail as Mr. Trump has turned his focus toward a general election showdown with President Biden, and written off Ms. Haley as a delusional nuisance.
Indeed, Mr. Trump did not even mention Ms. Haley by name earlier Saturday when he addressed the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.
SEE ALSO: Trump dubs Election Day ‘judgment day’ in preview of general election fight with Biden
Instead, he trained his fire at Mr. Biden, warning the nation will unravel if the Democrat wins another four years.
The winner of South Carolina’s Republican primary has won the nomination all but one time since 1980. Next up is the primary in Michigan on Tuesday, which will also hold a party convention four days later as part of a hybrid nomination system the state party adopted this year.
For Ms. Haley, the loss in South Carolina stings.
Intensifying her attacks against Mr. Trump, she has been warning he is an agent of chaos that turns off chunks of the broader electorate — namely independents and suburban women — that Republicans need to win on Election Day.
On Saturday evening, Ms. Haley congratulated Mr. Trump in her speech, and the crowd of her supporters booed.
“I don’t believe Donald Trump can beat Joe Biden,” she said, assuring that she wasn’t giving up her primary fight. “We can’t afford four more years of Biden’s failures or Donald Trump’s lack of focus.”
SEE ALSO: CPAC attendees call for loyalty to Trump as veepstakes heat up
The Palmetto State, at least on paper early on, appeared to be fertile ground for Ms. Haley who served as the state’s governor from 2011 to 2017 and before that as a member of the South Carolina Legislature.
The 52-year-old hoped to cobble together a coalition of anti-Trump Republicans, as well as independents and even Democrats who registered to vote in the GOP primary.
But whatever goodwill lingered for Ms. Haley, it proved to be no match for Mr. Trump. He entered the primary sitting atop a 23-point lead in the polls.
Mr. Trump focused on the state early, rolling out South Carolina leadership over a year ago that featured Gov. Henry McMaster and Sen. Lindsey Graham. When Mr. Trump mentioned Mr. Graham during his victory speech, however, the crowd booed.
By the time the primary election rolled around Saturday, Mr. Trump had collected the support of the entire South Carolina congressional delegation — with the sole exception of Rep Tommy Norment, who endorsed Ms. Haley when she entered the race.
Mr. Trump even wooed Sen. Tim Scott into his camp. Mr. Scott, Mr. Trump’s former rival in the nomination fight, is now being billed as a possible running mate.
Still, Ms. Haley continues to signal she is sticking in the race through the March 5 Super Tuesday contests. She said she will head to Michigan on Sunday.
Haley campaign manager Betsy Ankney, on a conference call with reporters this week, announced a seven-figure ad buy across Super Tuesday states.
“We’re willing to bet that they have a lot more courage than the political class and the media who line up behind Trump, even though they know what a disaster he is,” Ms. Ankeny said.
Ms. Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., has said a large number of voters are not ready for a drawn-out lesser-of-two-evils contest between Mr. Trump, 77, and Mr. Biden, 81 — so she plans to continue to give them another primary option.
“The reality is, despite whatever ALL CAPS RANTS Trump goes on about the polls, he will not defeat Joe Biden in November and he will drag the entire Republican team down with him,” Ms. Ankeny said.
• This article was based in part on wire service reports.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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