Early voting is over for South Carolina’s Republican presidential primary. Up next is Election Day, Feb. 24, South Carolina voters will finish choosing between former President Trump and their former governor, Nikki Haley.
The South Carolina primary is open but those who participated in the Democratic presidential primary earlier this month cannot vote.
Both candidates have campaigned across the state in recent weeks.
President Trump has held colossal rallies in Conway and North Charleston. He also participated in a Fox News Town Hall with Laura Ingraham in Greenville on Feb. 20.
“My revenge will be success,” the former president said during the interview.
Ms. Haley, meanwhile, has appeared everywhere from Clemson University, her alma mater, to Greenville, where she delivered a “State of the Race” address on Feb. 20, just hours before President Trump’s eye-catching town hall.
“I refuse to quit. South Carolina will vote on Saturday. But on Sunday, I’ll still be running for president. I’m not going anywhere,” the candidate said.
Some Haley Supporters Say Would Support a Third Party Run
Some backers of Ms. Haley’s candidacy told The Epoch Times they would vote for her in a hypothetical multi-way race pitting her against President Biden and President Trump. Such a scenario could be further complicated if independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. remains in the fray.
Daniel and Cynthia Nichols told The Epoch Times that they would back Ms. Haley if she were a candidate in a multi-party November election. They spoke with The Epoch Times before walking uphill to Clemson University’s Owen Pavilion to listen to her on the evening of Feb. 20.
“The Republican Party needs to move on from Donald Trump,” Mr. Nichols said. He voted for former CIA agent Evan McMullin in 2016 over President Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Bill and Kathy Neal, who went to hear Ms. Haley at the Palmetto Terrace Municipal Building in North Augusta, both said they would pick Ms. Haley over the two “fellas,” President Trump and President Biden.
“I voted for Trump twice and won’t do it again,” Mr. Neal added.
“I would go with Haley,” David Hemmerle, another North Augusta Haley event attendee, told The Epoch Times.
But not everyone was so certain.
Sherry Saxon, also at the North Augusta event, was sure she would choose President Trump over President Biden in a head-to-head matchup.
Yet, the possibility of Ms. Haley as a non-Republican running against both men left her stumped.
‘He Is the Heart of America’: Some Trump Fans Still Pick Nikki
At the Charleston County election headquarters on Feb. 20, a pair of former Trump voters told The Epoch Times they were casting ballots for Ms. Haley partly because they fear President Trump’s legal woes would imperil his candidacy.But both Trump-turned-Haley voters said they would still vote for President Trump if he becomes the Republican nominee. And three other Trump voters told The Epoch Times that nothing would dissuade them from backing the former president.
Sherry Tucker, 59, and her friend, Sherry Gaskins, a retiree, said they voted for President Trump because they like his past accomplishments and policies. But both women also said their votes for him also signify their support for the strength he has shown while facing relentless political attacks.
Ms. Tucker grew emotional as she reflected on President Trump battling criminal charges, attempts to strip him from ballots, lawsuits, and unfair media coverage.
“I don’t know how anybody could have withstood what he has withstood over these years, why he would even want to pursue this. But it’s because he is the heart of the American people,” Ms. Tucker said, putting her hand over her heart.
“This younger generation, they’re missing the forest for the trees. They’re seeing the chaos but what they don’t understand is that the chaos has brought truth to light,” Ms. Tucker said.
In response to criticisms of the former president’s often-brash communication, Ms. Tucker sees that as a necessity as he stands up for himself.
“When you have bullies, you have to have a better bully in the playground, someone who can attack … and not be afraid, to not stand in fear. We have all been standing in fear and we can’t stand under that anymore.”
Ms. Gaskins said she isn’t particularly worried about the legal issues because she believes the U.S. Supreme Court will resolve them.
She has been a supporter of Donald Trump’s candidacy since he first announced it in 2015: “I was so thrilled because he’s a businessman, and I did not want another politician.”
Ms. Gaskins said his experience as a businessman benefited America immensely. President Trump did such a great job that “the country felt like a well-oiled machine” during his presidency, she said.
A younger voter, Lauren Bordeaux, 32, was torn between voting for Ms. Haley and the Republican frontrunner. She likes both. She thinks Ms. Haley did a great job as governor and President Trump did a great job as president.
Ultimately, Ms. Bordeaux decided to cast her ballot for Ms. Haley, partly because the former governor might have broader appeal in a general election matchup against Democrat President Joe Biden.
“I think that she could get the Dems and people who are a little more liberal to go with her,” Ms. Bordeaux said. Still, she acknowledged that President Trump will probably prevail as the GOP nominee, “which is fine, but it would be a little bit more divisive,” because President Trump’s unvarnished, unapologetic candor tends to spark passionate reactions for and against him.
“And I do love him. I voted for him last time and I think he won last time,” Ms. Bordeaux said. She voted for then-candidate Donald Trump in 2016, too. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to vote for him in the South Carolina primary because “it’s going to be such a hoopla in our country if and when he wins,” she said, explaining that she thinks people who despise President Trump will be “freaking out” if the 2024 election goes his way. “They’ve already got their panties in a bunch,” she said.
Ms. Bordeaux further explained that she respects President Trump’s hard work:
“I think he did a whole lot for our country … I know not everybody feels that way, but I do,” she said.
Still, considering the multiple attempts to bankrupt President Trump, kick him off the ballot, or imprison him over what Democrats charge are criminal actions, Ms. Bordeaux said, “I don’t know what’s coming or what they'll try next” to block him from regaining the White House.
Ms. Bordeaux decided it was a safer bet to vote for Ms. Haley. That’s somewhat in line with the former governor’s campaign messaging, which tells voters to “Pick Nikki” and avoid the “chaos” she associates with President Trump.
Trump Fans Crash Haley Events
While Ms. Haley and President Trump verbally joust from afar, fans of the candidates on the ground aren’t above battles of their own—also, hopefully, just verbal and not physical.“I’m not protesting against her [Haley]. I just know Trump’s the best for us, and I wanted to express that to her,” demonstrator Wes Breinich told The Epoch Times.
In North Augusta, a trio of female Trump supporters protesting outside the Haley event elicited honks from many drivers.
“She’s not a true Republican,” said Bonnie, who would not share her last name. She held a sign reading, “Trump 2024, Go Home Neocon Nikki.”
The three stood just outside the garage where many Haley event attendees had parked. Most Haley supporters who walked past sounded more annoyed than angry at the demonstration.
“I’m wondering why they’re here,” Mr. Hemmerle said. The protesters told The Epoch Times they had decided to come spontaneously, after learning of the gathering on the news or, in one case, receiving a text message from the Haley campaign.
“They have the right to do what they want to do,” Mr. Neal said.
“Let ‘em do whatever they want to do,” Phyllis Crater told The Epoch Times as she passed by.
Oz Malik reacted to the demonstrators, repeatedly calling the former president a racist and a misogynist. He and the three shouted back and forth.
“Being a Muslim American, I would support that blade of grass over that trash,” Mr. Malik, who described himself as a “moderate liberal,” said of President Trump.
“I'll probably end up voting for the movement that’s about marijuana legalization, women’s body rights, and making sure man doesn’t have as much of an impact on the environment,” he added.
Other Haley voters have made it clear to The Epoch Times that they were voting for Ms. Haley in the primary but planned to vote for President Biden in the general election.
“I would never vote for a Republican under any other circumstances,” she added.
While Trump fans have appeared at some Haley events, they were not reported at her Feb. 20 appearance at Clemson University, according to law enforcement and a Haley volunteer who spoke with The Epoch Times.
“They seem to have pulled back a bit,” the volunteer said.
