Haley continues to fight
US primary election: Trump also wins in South Carolina
Former US President Donald Trump has also won the Republican presidential primary in the state of South Carolina. The 77-year-old has already emerged victorious in the previous primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. Trump's rival Nikki Haley, who was once governor of the conservative state in the south-east of the USA, was defeated in South Carolina as expected, but the 52-year-old does not want to drop out of the race.
Trump and Haley fought another duel in South Carolina for their party's nomination for the presidential election on November 5. After around 80 percent of the votes had been counted, Trump led with around 60 percent and was therefore around 20 percentage points ahead of Haley - she achieved just under 40 percent. Anyone wishing to become a presidential candidate in the USA must first prevail in internal party primaries. The candidates are officially chosen at party conventions in the summer. The Republican nomination convention takes place in mid-July.
"I am a woman of my word"
In the party's internal primaries, the number of delegate votes to be awarded varies depending on the party and state. How the primaries are held differs from state to state. Democrats and Republicans each follow their own system. In South Carolina, party supporters decided on their favorite in the traditional way at polling stations on Saturday. In a few other states, voting takes place at small party meetings, known as caucuses.
After the vote in South Carolina, Haley appeared serious but combative. She had promised to stay in the race no matter what happened in South Carolina, she said. "I am a woman of my word." 40 percent of the vote is "not a small group," and there are a large number of voters among Republicans who want a real alternative to Trump, Haley said. South Carolina is only the fourth state in which a decision has been made. Over the next ten days, decisions would be made in numerous other states.
No home advantage
Haley, who is considered to be politically more moderate and rhetorically much more moderate than Trump, had hoped for a home advantage in South Carolina. From 2011 to 2017, the 52-year-old was the first woman to hold the office of governor in the state where she was born. South Carolina is roughly the size of Austria in terms of area and has a population of more than five million. Around a quarter of the population is black. The South Carolina primary was the first vote in a southern US state.
Trump had led Haley by almost 30 percentage points in polls in South Carolina. In nationwide polls, he leads by an even wider margin. Haley, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, is considered to have little chance of ultimately prevailing against Trump. Special attention is now being paid to March 5, the so-called Super Tuesday. On this day, Republican primaries will be held simultaneously in 15 states.
Trump already ahead in forecasts
As soon as the polls closed in South Carolina, several US broadcasters declared Trump the winner, citing their own forecasts. "This was a little earlier than we expected and an even bigger victory than we expected," said Trump in front of cheering supporters just a few minutes later in his victory speech. There had "never been" such an atmosphere, the Republican Party had "never been as united as it is now", he said.
Trump's victory in Haley's home state underpins the Republican's support among the party base. Despite his legal problems, he has not lost popularity among his supporters. There are four criminal proceedings against him, including for his attempts to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
Candidacy increasingly likely
The victory in South Carolina makes Trump's candidacy for the Republican Party in the presidential election in November more likely. As things stand, everything points to another duel between him and the incumbent President Biden.
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