Takeaways from the Republican South Carolina primary
By James Oliphant
(Reuters) -Frontrunner Donald Trump was hoping to use a sizable victory in South Carolina’s Republican primary on Saturday to persuade rival Nikki Haley to drop out of the presidential race. While the outcome put Trump even closer to clinching the party’s nomination, Haley has vowed to press on.
Here are some takeaways from the South Carolina primary:
WORK TO DO
In his victory speech, Trump made it clear that he was looking ahead to a November general election matchup against Democratic President Joe Biden. He didn’t mention Haley’s name once, apparently in a bid to act as if the primary race is over.
But while it appears increasingly improbable that Haley can wrest the nomination from Trump, his win in South Carolina masked a schism in the party that doesn’t seem to be closing.
Haley was on track to finish with about 40% of the vote, a better performance than polls predicted. Last month in New Hampshire, she took about 43% of the vote.
«Forty percent is not some tiny group,» she told her supporters on Saturday. «There are huge numbers of voters in our Republican primaries who are saying they want an alternative.»
In both states, Haley's numbers may have been bolstered by moderates or Democrats who voted in the Republican primary for the purpose of stopping Trump.
In South Carolina, Haley got the larger share of votes from voters who said they had never participated in a Republican primary before, according to exit polls by Edison Research. And 69% of self-described moderates went for her.
For Trump, it means there remains a solid chunk of the Republican electorate — as well as large share of independent voters — that he likely will need to win over if he is going to defeat Biden. As of yet, there’s
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