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?
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:
Trump speaks early in the night in South Carolina
Shortly after quickly being projected the winner, Trump took to the stage and thanked his supporters. He said his victory tonight would be repeated in November, when they'd gather to tell Biden he was fired. Nine months is a long time to wait, he said, and he asked Gov. Henry McMaster, who was on the stage with him, if there was anything he could do to speed it up. "In certain countries, you're allowed to call your election date," he said, and added he would speed it up if he could. Rather than give a long speech himself, though, he shared the stage with McMaster and the states two Senators, Graham and Scott, who both condemned Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection. Scott was until recently trying to oust Trump as the presumptive nominee, but Trump said he'd done a better job advocating for him than he had for himself. "I'm just very happy he didn’t have that same energy, drive because I probably would have been out of the race a long time ago," Trump said. Scott took to the stage and asked in a country growl, "Is South Carolina Trump country???" fully in campaign mode. The crowd booed Graham, who spoke flatteringly of Trump regardless.
—Monica Potts, 538
But, Nathaniel…
Was there any point besides principle in Haley staying in up until tonight? The writing has been on the wall for weeks, and getting trounced in her home state is a humiliation she could have spared herself. This obviously just makes the inevitable even more apparent, but if she didn’t drop out after New Hampshire, what’s a couple more weeks on principle? (Assuming she has enough money to continue campaigning through Super Tuesday, that is.)
—Kaleigh Rogers, 538
Principle is the only reason for Haley to stay in at this point
To be blunt, there is no practical reason for Haley to stay in the race at this point. She lost New Hampshire and South Carolina, which according to our modeling should be two of her very best states; as a result, she’s probably not going to win a single contest.
It also doesn’t make sense for Haley to stay in just in case the Supreme Court disqualifies Trump from the ballot. If that happens, other candidates like DeSantis will probably just jump back into the race, and they’ll be better aligned with where the Republican Party is these days. In fact, even as we sit here today, I’d honestly give DeSantis better odds than Haley of winning the GOP nomination, even as an inactive candidate.
Basically, there’s only one good reason for Haley to stay in at this point: principle. To give voice to an anti-Trump vision for the Republican Party. To be able to say “I told you so” if Trump loses in the fall. Because she sure isn’t going to be president.
—Nathaniel Rakich, 538
Trump's speech so far has touched on one pretty dicey area for him
Trump made a comment about how he would hold an election tomorrow if he could. It's true enough that plenty of countries hold elections on a less fixed schedule, but a candidate facing a number of serious charges related to election interference might not want to joke about that. But some of his other remarks, like his joke about how he doesn't mind talking about himself, reminded me of the feel of the 2016 campaign, and his ability to sometimes make voters laugh and feel in on the joke.
—Julia Azari, 538 contributor
South Carolina primary voters are concerned about immigration
In a February poll from Suffolk University/USA Today, likely South Carolina GOP primary voters were asked the most important issue facing the country. Of the options offered, 42 percent said that “immigration and border security” is the most important issue, 26 percent said “the economy” and 13 percent said the “future of American democracy.” No other issue offered got more than 5 percent of respondents.
—Mary Radcliffe, 538