Haley continues to fight – American primaries: Trump also wins in South Carolina

Trump and Haley fought another duel in South Carolina for their party’s nomination for the presidential elections on November 5. After about 80 percent of the votes were counted, Trump led by about 60 percent and was about 20 percentage points ahead of Haley — she reached almost 40 percent. Anyone who wants to become a presidential candidate in the US must first win in the parties’ internal primaries. The candidates are officially chosen at party conferences in the summer. The Republican nominating convention will take place in mid-July.

“I am a woman who keeps her word”
In internal party primaries, the number of votes up for grabs varies depending on the party and state. How primaries are conducted varies from state to state. Democrats and Republicans each follow their own system. In South Carolina, party supporters chose their favorite at polling stations on Saturday. In some other states, voting takes place at small party meetings, so-called caucuses.

After the vote in South Carolina, Haley seemed serious but combative. She vowed to stay in the race no matter what happens in South Carolina, she said. ‘I am a woman of her word.’ 40 percent of the vote is “not a small group,” and there are a large number of Republican voters who want a real alternative to Trump, Haley said. South Carolina is only the fourth state to make a decision. Decisions will be made in many other states over the next ten days.

No home field advantage
Haley, who is considered politically more moderate and rhetorically much more moderate than Trump, had hoped for a home field advantage in South Carolina. The 52-year-old was the first woman to hold the governorship of the state where she was born from 2011 to 2017. South Carolina is about the same size as Austria and has more than five million inhabitants. About a quarter of the population is black. The South Carolina primary was the first vote in a southern US state.

Trump was almost 30 percentage points ahead of Haley in the polls in South Carolina. In the national polls he leads by an even clearer margin. Former US ambassador to the United Nations, Haley, has little chance of ultimately prevailing over Trump. Now there is special attention for March 5, the so-called Super Tuesday. On this day, Republican primaries are held simultaneously in fifteen states.

Trump is already leading the way with his predictions
As polls closed in South Carolina, several US broadcasters declared Trump the winner, citing their own predictions. “This was a little sooner than we expected and an even bigger victory than we expected,” Trump told cheering supporters in his victory speech minutes later. There has “never” been a mood like this, and the Republican Party has “never been more united than it is today,” he said.

Trump’s victory in Haley’s home country underlines Republican support among the party base. Despite his legal troubles, he has lost none of his popularity among his supporters. He is facing four criminal proceedings, including for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Candidacy is becoming increasingly likely
The victory in South Carolina makes Trump’s Republican candidacy more likely in November’s presidential elections. From now on, everything points to a new duel between him and the incumbent President Biden.