Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has a wide lead in South Carolina over the rest of the primary field, including former Palmetto State Gov. Nikki Haley.
An Emerson College poll released Friday showed Trump leading Haley by 29 percentage points in his home turf, drawing 54% support to Haley’s 25%.
No other candidate in the race reached double digits in the polls, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis earning 7% support, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 5% and biotech mogul Vivek Ramaswamy at 3%. Another 6% said they were undecided.
Haley fares best among self-proclaimed independent voters in the Palmetto State, beating Trump 37% to 33% in that demographic.
However, Trump has an overwhelming advantage among Republicans, pulling 62% to Haley’s 21%.
Nikki Haley’s campaign has previously said it plans to win in South Carolina. Reuters
“The current state of the race in South Carolina finds Trump as the front runner with Haley as his main opponent. DeSantis has seen a decline in support, and similar to the New Hampshire poll we have faded into the pack with single-digit support,” Emerson College polling executive director Spencer Kimball said in a statement.
“A key question arising from these polls is whether Haley can mobilize enough support in her home state before the primary, should the race become more competitive after New Hampshire.”
Haley’s campaign previously told The Post it expected to win South Carolina. He has campaigned heavily in Iowa and New Hampshire, two early voting states, in an effort to gain enough momentum to boost him in his home state, which votes on February 24.
An Emerson College poll shows Trump ahead of the GOP pack. Emerson College Vote
According to the RealClearPolitics average, the 51-year-old Haley polled third in Iowa — behind DeSantis and Trump — and second in New Hampshire, behind only the former president.
Trump, 77, leads DeSantis, 45, in Iowa by an average of more than 32 points. Haley has narrowed the gap in New Hampshire, but is still more than 21 percentage points behind Trump, according to the RCP aggregate.
On Wednesday, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, Haley’s primary replacement on the campaign trail in the Granite State, guaranteed she would win the Jan. 23 primary and come in a “strong second” in Iowa.
Donald Trump attends a campaign event in Waterloo, Iowa. Reuters
President Biden leads the South Carolina field on the Democratic side with 69% support, far ahead of rival Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who has 5% support, and self-help author Marianne Williamson, who has 3% support .
“Biden holds a strong base of support among South Carolina Democrats, there are no alternatives that present any challenge to the president,” Kimball said. “The 22% who are still out of line gives Biden a chance to start the 2024 primary election with a strong showing to open the Democratic nomination.”
The poll shows the top concern for 40% of South Carolina voters is the economy, followed by immigration (14%), education and “threats to democracy” (9% each), health care (8%), crime (6%), housing affordability ( 5%) and abortion access (5%).
The poll, conducted Jan. 2-3, polled 1,046 South Carolina voters, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3%. On the Republican side, the poll had a sample of 584 voters and a margin or error of plus or minus 5%.
Emerson also polled 320 Democratic voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5.4% for that data set.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
