Trump defeats Nikki Haley in her home state of South Carolina
Former President Donald Trump has won the Republican primary race in South Carolina, defeating Nikki Haley in the state where she once served as governor.
The Associated Press called the race for Trump shortly after the polls closed, basing their decision on a survey taken of Republican primary voters in the Palmetto State.
The New York Times reported that, with 60% of the votes counted, the former president received 60.1%, while Haley received 39.3%, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had already dropped out of the race, got 0.4%.
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In a speech shortly after his latest primary victory, Trump explained that "there's something going on in the country, some really great things are going on."
"We're going to straighten things out," Trump said. "There's never been, ever, there's never been a spirit like this. And I just want to say, I've never seen the Republican Party so unified as it is right now."
Haley spoke to her supporters that evening, congratulating Trump on his victory, but maintained that Trump cannot defeat Democrat incumbent Joe Biden in November.
In January, Trump won the Iowa Caucus and the New Hampshire Primary, prompting prominent opponents Vivek Ramaswamy and DeSantis to suspend their campaigns and endorse Trump.
DeSantis said in his endorsement of Trump last month that it was “clear to me that a majority of Republican primary voters want to give Donald Trump another chance.”
"He has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard or a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents,” DeSantis added.
During his speech after winning New Hampshire, Trump called Haley an "imposter" for acting like she won the race and claimed that Democrat President Joe Biden was mentally unable "to put two sentences together."
"This is an evening I will not forget," Trump added. "We're going to have the greatest election success; we're going to turn our country around."
At a rally in Greenville, South Carolina, on Tuesday, Haley stated, “I refuse to quit,” “I’m not going anywhere,” and that “I’m campaigning every day, until the last person votes.”
“Dropping out would be the easy route. I’ve never taken the easy route. I’ve been the underdog in every race I’ve ever run,” she said before the primary results.
“I’ve always been David taking on Goliath. And like David, I’m not just fighting someone bigger than me. I’m fighting for something bigger than myself."
