COLUMBIA, S.C. — As the South Carolina Republican Presidential Primary election approaches Saturday, voters in the state are getting ready to head to the polls.
“South Carolina plays a very pivotal role in national politics. We outswing our weight nationally because every single presidential candidate has to come through South Carolina because we’re the first in the south primary,” Dave Wilson, conservative political strategist, said.
In the runup to primary day, all eyes will be on former Governor Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump.
“In ten out of the last presidential elections, whoever won in South Carolina has won the nomination on the both the Republican and Democratic side. South Carolina is the last place that early primary states have the ability to speak into the election prior to what’s called Super Tuesday,” Wilson said.
To become the Republican nominee it will take 1250 delegates, South Carolina holds 50 of those delegates.
“All the polling that we’ve looked at in terms of the campaigns that have come before us , it looks like Donald Trump will be the winner, projected by about 30 points in terms of the polling leads that he has,” Robert Oldendick, political science professor at the University of South Carolina, said.
Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, will be competing for votes in her home state. Something that political scientists say will be difficult for her to get despite Trump’s current legal situation.
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“There’s perception that since Governor Haley is behind in the polls that she’s not popular in the state, and I don’t think that’s the case. I think people still like her, but the fact of the matter in this case is that she’s running against a very popular former president. So even though they like her, she’s second behind Donald Trump at this point,” Oldendick said.
Political strategists say Haley is attempting to close the gap between her and Trump in other ways.
“She’s inviting the democrats who did not participate in the Democratic Presidential Primary to vote for her and vote against Donald Trump in the Republican primary. Do I think that’s going to make a difference? Absolutely not,” Antjuan Seawright, political strategist, said.
As it stands right now, according to the Associated Press, Donald Trump is leading with 63 delegates, Nikki Haley sits at 17.
“If Nikki Haley wants to do anything in South Carolina, she’s going to have to close the gap that exists between her number on the polls and where Donald Trump is right now. She’s got to be within maybe ten points in second place against Donald Trump if she wants to have a chance of doing anything beyond South Carolina,” Wilson said.