Last Sunday, former President Donald Trump beat Nikki Haley in the South Carolina Republican primary, as he garnered a majority (59.8%) of the popular vote and earned the support of 47 out of the 50 delegates available in the state.
The result of the election and the margin of victory for Trump was right in range of projections generated by several polling sources; a poll conducted by the Trafalgar Group from February 21 to February 23 predicted a 59%-38% victory for Trump and a poll conducted by Suffolk University projected a 63%-35% victory for Trump.
The former president has now won the support of 119 (accounting for the February 27 Michigan primaries) out of the 1215 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination and has gotten a majority of the popular vote in every Republican primary or caucus held this election cycle. In response specifically to his victory in South Carolina, Trump mentioned that he “got double the number of votes that has ever been received in [the state]” and commented that he had “never seen the Republican Party so unified.”
Meanwhile, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley trails in the delegate race with the support of 22 delegates won. After the results of the South Carolina primary, she reflected that “40% isn’t 50%…40% isn’t a small number” and affirmed her decision to “not [give] up…when a majority of Americans disapprove of both Trump and Biden.”
Looking ahead, the next states in contention for the Republican nomination race are Idaho, Missouri, and Michigan (the Michigan Republican Party has decided to split up the relegation of delegates into a primary and caucus), as caucuses will be held on March 2.
