Trump poised to hand Haley a ‘smackdown’ in South Carolina primary, poll shows

Donald Trump is dominating in South Carolina, leading White House hopeful Nikki Haley in her home state primary by a substantial margin, according to internal polling conducted by the super PAC backing the former president.

“President Trump is set to deliver a South Carolina smackdown to Nikki Haley” reads the memo handed to some of the 77-year-old former president’s donors and supporters Friday by polling firm Fabrizio, Lee and Associates, and obtained by Axios. 

The memo includes a survey that shows Trump beating Haley by 39 points in the Palmetto State, where she was born and raised and served as governor for six years.

When asked to choose between Trump, Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, 64% of South Carolina Republican voters favored Trump; 25% went for Haley; and only 8% backed DeSantis, according to the poll. 

“What’s worse for Haley,” the pollster notes, is that her supporters appear to be far more uncommitted than Trump’s backers. 

A majority of Trump supporters, 58%, responded that they would “definitely” be voting for the former president in the South Carolina primary, whereas only 18% of Haley supporters said the same. 

Even with DeSantis out of the picture, Trump still trounces Haley, according to the poll, beating the former governor 68% to 28% in a head-to-head race. 

Trump further solidified his standing with South Carolinians and dealt a blow to Haley on Friday after receiving the endorsement of Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) — his onetime rival on the 2024 campaign trail. 

Trump has already received endorsements from half of South Carolina’s GOP congressional delegation — Reps. Russell Fry, William Timmons and Joe Wilson – as well as from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster. 

The South Carolina GOP primary will be held on Feb. 24.