Nikki Haley trails Donald Trump by a wide margin in her home state of South Carolina, the site of the next major Republican primary contest, a grim sign for the former governor’s bid for the Republican presidential nomination, according to a new poll.
Trump leads Haley, who served two terms as governor of South Carolina, by 26 percentage points, 58% to 32%, according to a Monnmouth University-Washington Post poll released Thursday. Trump holds a commanding lead with women and men and among all age groups.
Haley’s favorability ratings in South Carolina fell to 45% in January from 59% in September, while Trump’s have increased slightly to 66% from 60%, the poll found. The state’s primary is scheduled for Feb. 24.
Haley finished behind Trump in both Iowa and New Hampshire, but decided to press on with her White House bid in her home state despite the losses. She is focusing her campaign efforts and advertising dollars on rallying voters in the state where she was a popular governor. She has argued that her share of the vote grew from Iowa to New Hampshire and that only two states should not determine the outcome of the presidential nominee.
Still, Haley’s poor polling in upcoming states indicate that she has a very slim chance of upsetting the former president, who is on track to become the Republican nominee for the third time.
At recent fundraisers, she has touted her popularity in South Carolina and told donors that she is seeking to turn out voters who normally don’t vote in primary elections. Haley has strong support from wealthy contributors, including investor Stan Druckenmiller and the Charles Koch-aligned Americans for Prosperity network, who say they plan to continue to fund her bid.
The poll of 815 potential Republican primary voters was conducted by telephone and online from Jan. 26 to 30. The survey has a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.
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