Donald Trump continues his triumph in the Republican presidential primaries. According to forecasts, the 77-year-old also prevailed in the home of his rival Nikki Haley, in the state of South Carolina.
Former US President Donald Trump has won the primary election for the Republican presidential nomination in the state of South Carolina. After about three-quarters of the votes have been counted, he stands at 60.2 percent, according to the latest projections from Edison Research. His opponent Nikki Haley, who was once governor of the conservative state in the southeast of the USA, suffered a defeat as expected and is currently at 39.2 percent.
Trump and Haley fought another duel in South Carolina for their party's nomination for the presidential election on November 5th. Anyone who wants to become a presidential candidate in the USA must first prevail in internal party primaries. The candidates are then officially chosen at party conferences in the summer. The Republican nomination convention will take place in mid-July.
No Governors-Bonus for Haley
Haley, who is considered to be somewhat more politically and rhetorically moderate than Trump, had hoped for a home advantage in South Carolina. The 52-year-old was born here and was the first woman to hold the state governorship from 2011 to 2017.
South Carolina is roughly the size of Austria and has more than five million inhabitants. Around a quarter of the population is black. The South Carolina primary was the first vote in a southern US state. Trump was already almost 30 percentage points ahead of Haley in polls in South Carolina.
Trump with a flawless record so far
In national polls, Trump leads by a clear margin. The former US ambassador to the United Nations Haley is given little chance of ultimately prevailing against Trump. Trump had already won the previous primaries in the states of Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. Trump supporters have long been urging Haley to drop out of the party's internal race.
Despite her renewed defeat, Haley confirmed that she did not want to drop out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination. “I said this week that I will continue to run no matter what happens in South Carolina,” she said. “I am a woman of my word. I am not giving up this fight because a majority of Americans oppose both Donald Trump and Joe Biden.” Now special attention is on March 5th, “Super Tuesday”. On this day, Republican primaries will be held simultaneously in 15 states. How long Haley lasts will also depend on whether she can continue to collect enough donations.
Apparently no disadvantages due to legal proceedings
Trump's victory in Haley's homeland once again underlines the Republican's support among the party base. Despite his legal problems, he has not lost his popularity among his supporters. There are four criminal proceedings against him, including because of his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
The victory in South Carolina makes Trump's candidacy for the Republicans in the November presidential election more likely. As of now, everything points to another duel between him and incumbent President Biden. Accordingly, Trump turned his attention to the presidential election this evening. “We will be here on November 5th (…) and we will say: 'Joe, you are fired. Get out of here,'” said the ex-president at his victory celebration in South Carolina's capital Columbia.
States with different Regulate
In the internal party primaries, the number of delegate votes up for grabs varies depending on the party and state. How primaries are held varies from state to state. Democrats and Republicans each follow their own system.
In South Carolina, party supporters decided on their favorite at polling stations on Saturday. In a few other states, voting takes place at small party meetings, so-called caucuses.
Katrin Brand, ARD Washington, tagesschau, February 25, 2024 6:14 a.m
