By Mabinty Quarshie and Julia Johnson
Former President Donald Trump defeated former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley by double digits in South Carolina, her home state, marking his fifth straight win in the 2024 primary schedule.
The Associated Press called the race at 7 p.m. — the same time the polls closed in the Palmetto State. With nearly all the ballots counted, Trump netted 60% of the vote, compared to Haley’s 39%.
Trump began speaking at his watch party just minutes after polls closed, telling attendees, “This was a little sooner than we anticipated. An even bigger win than we anticipated.
“I was just informed that we got double the number of votes that has ever been received in the great state of South Carolina,” the former president claimed.
Notably, Trump did not mention Haley once in his speech.
Just over 10 minutes after the polls closed, the South Carolina Republican Party released a statement on Trump’s win.
“South Carolina is Trump Country again!” South Carolina GOP Chairman Drew McKissick said. “It was true in 2016 and 2020, and South Carolina Republicans just put an exclamation point on it today. His Promises Made, Promises Kept agenda is what strengthened our country before, and can do it again.”
The Trump victory is an especially embarrassing loss for Haley, who was a popular two-term governor in South Carolina. She and her allies poured more than 14 times the amount of money as Trump and his into the primary but still fell short.
Just over 10 minutes after the polls closed, the South Carolina Republican Party released a statement on Trump’s win.
“South Carolina is Trump Country again!” South Carolina GOP Chairman Drew McKissick said. “It was true in 2016 and 2020, and South Carolina Republicans just put an exclamation point on it today. His Promises Made, Promises Kept agenda is what strengthened our country before, and can do it again.”
The Trump victory is an especially embarrassing loss for Haley, who was a popular two-term governor in South Carolina. She and her allies poured more than 14 times the amount of money as Trump and his into the primary but still fell short.
In a statement on Saturday, a Trump spokesman said Haley’s “delusion is clouding her judgment.”
“The primary ends tonight and it is time to turn to the general election so we can defeat Crooked Joe and end his assault on the American people,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said.
Trump’s allies are consistently pressuring Haley to exit the race to allow Trump to focus more on defeating Biden and collaborating with the Republican National Committee.
“She should go ahead and drop out like this thing is over, Donald Trump’s our nominee,” Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) told the Washington Examiner in an interview Friday evening at the Black Conservative Federation gala. “We all know. Time to be focused on November winning back the White House.”
Biden issued a statement Saturday warning voters that electing Trump would put abortion access, democracy, and economic prosperity in peril.
“Every day, we are reminded of the threat Donald Trump poses to our future as Americans grapple with the damage he left behind,” Biden said.