How Nikki Haley—With Help—Made South Carolina an Economic ‘Beast of the Southeast’

livemint.com:

Nikki Haley mentions the “Beast of the Southeast" at virtually every campaign stop in her underdog effort to try to stop Donald Trump from winning the Republican presidential nomination. The phrase, which an industry trade publication used in 2013 to describe South Carolina’s robust economic development during her governorship, is a badge of honor for Haley as she explains how her state’s unemployment dropped from 10.8% to 4.4% under her watch. “By the time I left, we were building planes with Boeing, we were building more BMWs than any place in the world, we brought in Mercedes-Benz, we brought in Volvo," she said at a recent appearance ahead of the state’s Saturday GOP primary.

“They were referring to us as the ‘Beast of the Southeast.’" Reminding South Carolina voters of her accomplishments as governor is important as Haley tries to avoid an electoral embarrassment in her home state. The state’s rapid growth—the number of registered voters grew roughly 587,000 between the 2016 and 2022 general elections—means she needs to tell many new voters about the economic growth she oversaw. Even voters who remember her tenure fondly aren’t necessarily on her side in the primary.

An early February CBS News/YouGov poll of the state’s Republicans found 60% of respondents approved of Haley’s performance as governor, while 82% approved of Trump’s presidential record. In the primary matchup, Trump led Haley, 65% to 30%. There is no question Haley’s governorship was friendly to business expansion and unfriendly to organized labor.