Feb 24, 2024, 7:44 PM EST
… what is a bippy?
Nathaniel …
—Kaleigh Rogers, 538
South Carolina primary 2024: Trump projected to win, Haley vows to stay in the race
What can we take away from Trump's big Palmetto State victory?
Last Updated: February 24, 2024, 4:55 PM EST
Former President Donald Trump has won the South Carolina Republican primary, ABC News projects. It was a swift and embarrassing defeat for former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who rose to political prominence as South Carolina’s governor. Nevertheless, in her concession speech, Haley vowed to continue her campaign into Super Tuesday on March 5.
Throughout the evening, 538 reporters, analysts and contributors broke down the results as they came in with live updates, analysis and commentary. Read our full live blog below.
Latest headlines:
- Feb 24, 2024, 9:18 PM EST
- Feb 24, 2024, 8:59 PM EST
- Feb 24, 2024, 8:47 PM EST
- Feb 24, 2024, 8:18 PM EST
- Feb 24, 2024, 7:00 PM EST
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Feb 24, 2024, 7:43 PM EST
But Haley doesn’t need to stay in the race for that, Monica
Haley’s name is already on the ballot in most future primary contests, as is DeSantis’s, Ramaswamy’s, etc. Haley can drop out of the race and then just jump back in if something happens to Trump. (You can bet your bippy that DeSantis would do that.) It’s not like Haley is going to win many delegates by losing to Trump by 30 points in every state.
—Nathaniel Rakich, 538
Feb 24, 2024, 7:39 PM EST
Spite, and also in case 'something' happens
I think you're both right, Nathaniel and Kaleigh, that there's no way Haley can win. She might just be staying in to prove a point and rally the non-Trump base to her side, to take a stand she can point to as prescient if Trump loses. But I think the big issue that she and most other Republicans have been dancing around is the four court cases around the country Trump is facing, his age and a range of any number of unexpected things that could happen between now and November. I think Haley might stay in the race in case something like a criminal conviction, a kind of deus ex machina for the primary that changes the story, without her having to really go after and fight Trump. The truth is he has a lot of potential weaknesses as a potential candidate, no matter how slim the potential for him to be actually sent to prison before November is. Maybe she's trying to position herself as the natural alternative should one of those things happen.
—Monica Potts, 538
Feb 24, 2024, 7:38 PM EST
Short-term practical or long-term practical?
Look, Haley is going to lose out to Trump for the Republican nomination. That's been apparent really before we even had votes to count, although it was right to see what actual voters would do in the early contests. But if Haley wants to risk what remains of her political career pushing back against Trump and what he means to the party she's dedicated her political life to, we shouldn't rule out that having longer-term practical implications and influence on voters. Acquiescing to Trump has been a pretty regular thing among Republicans since the 2016 election, but carrying a torch for an alternate vision is something Haley may be inclined to do, to hell with the consequences. Granted, the realities of continuing a campaign with less and less money coming in could end this race pretty soon, but we'll just have to see what she decides to do.
—Geoffrey Skelley, 538
