(NewsNation) — Nikki Haley’s best-case scenario for her home state’s GOP primary might be to do well enough to make the March 5 Super Tuesday slate somewhat competitive against Donald Trump.
Trump is up 30 points on Haley in South Carolina, according to the latest polling average from Decision Desk HQ.
A Trump victory on Saturday would give the former president his fourth straight win in early primary and caucus states after already winning in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.
Haley, however, who was twice elected South Carolina governor and then served as Trump’s U.N. ambassador, has a chance to narrow the margin and dampen Trump’s momentum.
South Carolina has no party registration, and Republicans hold an open primary. That means the only voters who are not eligible Saturday are the 126,000 or so who cast Democratic primary ballots on Feb. 3. That’s significantly less than the 500,000-plus who voted Democratic in 2020, meaning plenty of anti-Trump votes are theoretically available to Haley.
