CHARLESTON, United States: Donald Trump and Nikki Haley will face off in South Carolina’s Republican primary on Saturday, with the former president expected to overcome past allegations in his home state as he moves closer to winning the nomination.
Haley was the popular governor of the Palmetto State for six years before becoming President Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations in 2017, but his old boss was supported by the party establishment and nearly two-thirds of voters in polls.
In the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries in January, the candidates fought mostly close calls, but as the primaries have narrowed to a two-horse race, the rhetoric has increased.
“Tomorrow, you’re going to cast the most important vote of your life, and frankly, we’re not really worried about tomorrow,” Trump said at a pre-election rally in Rock Hill.
Already trying to show he’s looking beyond Haley, he vowed to show President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party that “we’re coming in November like a freight train” when the general election rolls around.
Voting in the southern states of the United States began at 7 a.m. local time (12 noon GMT). At a school near Charleston, about a dozen people showed up to vote in the first 30 minutes.
South Carolina residents are not required to declare party allegiance when they register to vote and are allowed to vote in either the Democratic or Republican primaries.
Haley is a traditional conservative who believes in limited government and a strong foreign policy, and will rely on moderate votes, having lost to Trump in each of his first four nomination races. Strategy was of little use to him.
Voters in the South Carolina capital of Columbia on Thursday praised both candidates, with some voters saying they felt Haley was not ready for the top job and others saying they felt Trump is “not ready”.
“He’s going to go after people who don’t agree with him. As a Christian, I don’t feel good about that,” said David Gilliam, 55, a financial adviser and Haley voter.
The primary election comes amid signs that the front-runner, who faces four criminal charges, is tightening his grip on the party as he advances.
