Trump leads Haley by 26% in South Carolina weeks before primary: poll

Former President Donald Trump has a yawning lead over 2024 rival Nikki Haley in South Carolina weeks before the primary, beating out its former governor by 26%, according to a new poll.

The Washington Post/ Monmouth University poll shows 58% of South Carolina voters support Trump, compared to 32% for Haley.

The former governor is campaigning across the Palmetto State in a bid to have a good finish against Trump in the Feb. 24 primary.

The 51-year-old has said she has time to turn around the low polling numbers and that her campaign is “just getting started.”

However, the 26-point gap nearly mirrors a survey taken in September, when more candidates were in the race. Back then, Trump had 46% and Haley had 18%.

The recent poll is also similar to other survey data published by American Promise and the Tyson Group, where Haley had a 27-point gap behind the GOP front-runner.

The Thursday poll also shows voters have greater excitement, confidence and trust for Trump.

The 77-year-old is sporting 66% favorability, according to the poll, compared to Haley’s 45%.

Haley’s support dipped 14% since September despite her increasing campaigning in the state, when she had 59% favorability.

Seventy percent of the surveyed voters believed Trump could beat President Biden in a head-to-head matchup in the general election, while 62% thought the same for Haley.

On policy, voters said they trusted Trump more on every issue listed, including immigration, economy, foreign policy and abortion.

The majority of voters (50%) also said they backed Sen. Tim Scott’s (R-SC) decision to endorse Trump over Haley. 24% percent said the former 2024 candidate should have backed Haley, while 16% said he shouldn’t have endorsed anyone.

The poll was conducted between Jan. 26-30 via telephone and included a sample of 1,045 South Carolina registered voters. The margin of error was 3.9%.

South Carolina will be a pivoting point for Haley, who is relying on her record as its two-term governor to make an impact with voters. She has insisted that her lack of support from elected officials in the state is due to her willingness to keep them accountable through voice, votes and other measures.

Haley has also been ramping up her attacks on Trump’s mental state, recently saying he “has declined” since 2016 and appears to be “confused” often.