South-Carolina

Nikki Haley to suspend presidential campaign

Published

2 years ago

March 6, 2024

Nikki Haley to suspend presidential campaign

Nikki Haley, the last major candidate to challenge former President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination, will suspend her presidential campaign Wednesday, according to sources familiar with her plans.

The campaign sent an email early Wednesday morning, inviting press to attend prepared remarks at 10 a.m. ET in Charleston, S.C. Her expected suspension comes early after alackluster showing on Super Tuesday, when more than a dozen states and territories held presidential preference primary contests. Haley won just one, in Vermont.

A former South Carolina governor and Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, Haley pledged to stay in the race even after losingto Trump in the first few states’ nominating contests, including her home state of South Carolina on Feb. 24.

Speaking to supporters in Charleston after that election, Haley said she was pressing on through Super Tuesday, and painted an increasingly dire picture of the state of the country and the high stakes for the presidential race.

“I couldn’t be more worried about America,” Haley said. “It seems like our country is falling apart. But here’s the thing — America will come apart if we make the wrong choices.”

In South Carolina, Haley argued that roughly 40% of primary voters had signaled their desire for an alternative to Trump by voting for her.

She’d been able to get Trump in a head-to-head race just before the New Hampshire primary, when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped his bid for the nomination. But she still failed to meaningfully close the gap between herself and the former president in primary and nationwide polls.

Throughout her campaign, which launched in February 2023, also in Charleston, S.C., Haley framed her unique statusas a woman of color in the Republican field as evidence for the viability of the American dream.

“I don’t believe in glass ceilings,” she told supporters at her campaign launch in Charleston. “I believe in creating a country where anybody can do anything and create their own American dream.”

Haley’s political resume

When Haley joined the race last February, she came into it with extensive political experience. First elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2004, beating a 30-year incumbent Republican, she then went on to serve as the state’s first nonwhite and woman governor.

Haley gained national recognition for her response to a racist 2015shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston that killed nine Black churchgoers. In response to that shooting, she led the effort to remove the Confederate flag from the state capitol grounds. Then, in 2017, Trump appointed her to represent the U.S. at the United Nations, where she became known for her hawkish foreign policy.

That resume could not overcome, however, a Republican Party that moved more in the direction of Trump after she served as governor.

Finding a balance

Haley sometimes appeared to struggle with her messaging as she straddled the difficult line between pleasing the Republican base and appealing to independents, moderate Republicans and other voters who are disaffected with Trump. In one of her most notable gaffes, Haley failed to identify slavery as the cause of the Civil War when questioned during a campaign stop in New Hampshire, a comment she quickly walked back.

She also stumbled in her response to a controversial Alabama Supreme Court ruling that threatened access to the fertility procedure in vitro fertilization, or IVF — a procedure that has overwhelming public support, including among many voters who oppose abortion rights.

Asked for her thoughts in an interview with NBC’s Ali Vitali, Haley said, “Embryos, to me, are babies,” before clarifying her support for access to the procedure in subsequent interviews. Haley later told Newsmax, “you don’t want to take those fertility treatments away from women.”

Haley spent the last several weeks of her campaign stepping up her attacks on both Trump and President Biden, emphasizing both candidates’ relatively advanced age. She also went afterVice President Kamala Harris, warning South Carolina voters that the United States would soon have a female president: either Haley or Harris — another jab at Biden’s age and perceived frailty that also drew a contrast between her and Trump.

An uphill fight against Trump

But her anti-Trump messaging and increased attacks on his age failed to chip away at his resounding popularity among Republicans and loyalty within his MAGA base.

Even though Haley was a popular governor while she led South Carolina, the former president’s standing in the state proved to trump hers in the state, which has a high percentage of voters who consider themselves “very conservative,” a large white and evangelical Christian population, and, notably, not many independents — a voting bloc that leaned toward Haley in the New Hampshire primary.

Trump also fought aggressively against Haley in the final days of the race, ramping up his attacks and ads against her.

Notably, in remarks on Tuesday evening as results continued to roll in from the primary contests, Trump spoke but did not mention Haley.

With Haley’s departure from the race, a general-election rematch between Trump and Biden appears all but official. Neither candidate can secure enough delegates to be the presumptive nominee until mid- to late-March.

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South-Carolina

NFL Draft Injury Analysis: Jalon Kilgore, S – South Carolina

Published

6 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

NFL Draft Injury Analysis: Jalon Kilgore, S – South Carolina

The Lions may be looking for a safety within the first two rounds due to injuries to Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch. That’s where Jalon Kilgore may come in. He has some minor injuries, but appears to be a relatively low-risk prospect for a team that needs to add health to that room.

Here is the excerpt of my medical report on Jalon Kilgore:

Jalon Kilgore, S (21) – South Carolina

Projected round 2-3.

Concern level 2/10

While his availability has been excellent, Kilgore has a history of hamstring strains in 2025 and 2023. If his 2024 injury is found to be also a hamstring, then happenstance becomes a disturbing trend.

With fast-twitch athletes, hamstrings are going to be very common, and generally don’t present any long-term issues. The difficult trick will be to determine if a certain player is more prone to hamstrings.

What helps Kilgore a lot is his young age.

For more Lions coverage, follow us on X, @TheLionsWire, and give our Facebook page a like. Follow Jimmy on X, @JimmyLiaoMD

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South-Carolina

Motorcyclist critically injured in Longs area crash

Published

18 hours ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

Motorcyclist critically injured in Longs area crash

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) — One person was critically injured in a motorcycle crash in the Longs area on Thursday afternoon, according to Horry County Fire Rescue (HCFR).

Just before 2:00 p.m., crews responded to the area of Old Highway 31 near Hidden River Road.

MORE: 1 critically injured in vehicle rollover near International Dr.

One person was transported to the hospital as a result of the motorcycle crash, HCFR said.

Officials ask that drivers avoid the area as lanes of traffic are currently blocked.

The incident is under investigation by the South Carolina Highway Patrol with assistance from the Horry County Police Department.

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South-Carolina

South Carolina’s Raven Johnson carries her grandfather’s legacy into Sweet 16

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

South Carolina’s Raven Johnson carries her grandfather’s legacy into Sweet 16

Alyssia Hamilton
| Special to USA TODAY

COLUMBIA, SC ― With the clock winding down and pressures of the Women’s NCAA Tournament rising, South Carolina senior guard Raven Johnson isn’t playing just to win. She plays in honor of a voice she can no longer hear – but that she still carries with her every time she steps onto the court.

That motivation was on full display Monday night, as the No. 1-seeded Gamecocks took down No. 9 USC to advance to the Sweet 16. Johnson earned her 1,000th career point ― what would prove to be her last point at Colonial Life Arena ― on a steal and fast-break layup that brought a roar from the crowd. The Gamecocks will face No. 4 Oklahoma Saturday in Sacramento, with another Elite Eight appearance on the line.

For Johnson, the moment symbolized something deeper – a career shaped by the memory of her late grandfather. Johnson’s family watched as she achieved the milestone, her mother, grandmother and twin brother. It was a full circle moment for a player whose journey took root in her grandparents’ home.

Her grandparents helped raise her and her twin brother, Richard Johnson. The family lived together and she often calls her grandmother “mother” and her grandfather “papa,” reflecting the impact they had on her upbringing.

“My grandparents did a really good job,” Johnson said. “We wouldn’t be playing sports if it wasn’t for them.”

The Boones introduced the twins to basketball through their church and spent countless hours training them, often pushing them past their limits. A sergeant first class in the Army Reserves, he supervised soldiers in his unit and brought that same discipline to his grandchildren on the court, being demanding, structured and determined.

“I remember being outside and he was training us and I thought it was so hard. I wanted to give up,” Johnson said. “I used to cry, and he would be like ‘You’re not going to cry in my face, and you’re not going to give up.’ It was little things like that that made me tough.”

The standard of grit, accountability and composure, is something Johnson carries today.

“She’s just a winner and she’s a great point guard,” said South Carolina senior guard Ta’Niya Latson, who also played with Johnson at Westlake High School in Atlanta. “When she’s confident, we’re confident. When she’s poised, we’re poised. It’s hard to have that type of personality and leadership on the court, but she carries it well.”

Rodrick Boone was diagnosed with stomach cancer in December 2012 and died in April 2013 while Johnson was at a tournament in New Orleans. She was 10 years old.

“I remember I shut down,” Johnson said. “My mind went blank. I was like ‘What?’ I thought he was untouchable.”

Months after her grandfather’s death, something shifted in her mindset.

“I think that’s my why,” Johnson said. “I keep going today because he is my why.”

As a child, Johnson didn’t even like basketball. She preferred T-ball and cheerleading and thought basketball wasn’t for girls, until she saw Notre Dame’s Skylar Diggins and began to see herself differently.

“She was so pretty to me and I remember asking ‘Can I be girly and hoop?’” Johnson said.

She was the only girl on her recreational team, earning the nickname “Killer” for her defensive intensity alongside her brother, nicknamed “Thriller” for his offensive ability. The boys tested Johnson by playing physical and trying to push her out of the sport.

“I used to be cooking them out there a little bit, and I think they didn’t like that,” Johnson said.

She said the boys trying to make it hard on her actually made her tougher both physically and mentally.

Her grandmother, Connie Boone, said her grandfather would be proud of what Johnson has become.

“He might be crying but he would be happy about it,” her grandmother said. “You start them young, but you never know what the outcome is going to be.”

Johnson imagines the conversations she’d be having with her papa if he was still here.

“He would still be on my butt riding me, he’ll tell me maybe I need to fix something,” Johnson said. “He’ll be happy and I think he’ll be like ‘All right let’s get back to the drawing board. Let’s get ready for the next opponent.’”

She knows her papa is always watching, and she talks to him a lot at night.

“I just want to tell him that I’m going to keep pushing through even when it gets tough,” Johnson said. “He’s always telling me to push through because nobody cares. Nobody cares if you’re at your lowest, nobody cares.”

On Monday, fans chanted “Raven, Raven, Raven” as she walked off the court for the final time at Colonial Life Arena, Johnson’s moment was bigger than the scoreboard.

It was about diligence, progress and a promise kept.

With another game ahead and the possibility of a deeper tournament run, she isn’t finished. She continues to push and play for the voice that gave her a reason to begin.

Alyssia Hamilton is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

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