Donald Trump took another step toward a general election rematch with Joe Biden by decimating Nikki Haley in her home state in the South Carolina Republican primary.
The result came just seconds after the polls closed on an embarrassing night for Haley, who has vowed to stay in the race even as her path to the nomination quickly closes.
Trump declared victory at his Election Day party held at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds in Columbia, saying, “This was a little sooner than we expected.”
Trump’s victory is built on the growing momentum he has built following his victories in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.
Former President Donald Trump took the stage to declare victory in the South Carolina primary in Columbia on Saturday night.
Trump embarrassed Nikki Haley in her home state when the race was called just seconds after polls closed at 7 p.m.
But Trump is changing his primary message and telling his voters that they should start focusing on the general election in November.
“Nine months is a long time,” he said of the schedule leading up to this year’s presidential elections. “I just wish we could do it faster.”
“You know, in certain countries, you can announce the date of your elections,” he added. ‘If I had the right to do it, I would do it tomorrow. I would say that tomorrow we will have elections.
The former president does not want to lose the momentum he feels he has after his broad victories and multiple accusations that, according to him, are political persecution.
‘South Carolina – thank you very much. Go home, rest. We have a lot of work ahead of us,” Trump urged in remarks in which he barely mentioned his remaining Republican rival.
Haley’s loss on Saturday marks the first time a Republican candidate has lost his home state primary in more than 50 years. The previous one was Richard Nixon, who lost the California primary to Ronald Reagan, who was also from California.
But Haley said during a state of the race speech Tuesday that she was “far” from ending her candidacy despite her disappointing primary performance so far and dismal polls showing her trailing Trump in the polls. national and state elections by wide margins.
The former South Carolina governor said she plans to stay in the 2024 Republican primary until Super Tuesday on March 5, when 15 states and a staggering 874 delegates will be up for grabs on that day alone.
Trump acknowledged that the crowd at his election night party in Columbia was “very opinionated,” even toward some of the former president’s honored guests.
At the mention of South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the crowd booed even though Trump told them he is a good person.
Some voters in South Carolina told DailyMail.com on Saturday that Haley ruined any future career ambitions by entering the 2024 race and insist her career in politics, especially in the Palmetto State, is “over.”
Trump won 51 percent in Iowa against Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and a few other longshots. Then in New Hampshire last month, he won 54.3 percent in a race essentially between him and Haley after the rest of the primary candidates dropped out, with most supporting Trump.
The former president then took 99.1 percent of the vote in the Nevada caucus earlier this month, which Haley did not participate in after opting to run in the state’s primary, where she surprisingly lost to the ballot option “none of these candidates.” .’
Nikki Haley’s loss on Saturday marks the first time in more than 50 years that a Republican presidential candidate has lost his home state in a primary election.
Trump held a rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on Friday, where approximately 6,000 supporters attended to hear his final appeal before the primary.
He also spoke at the Black Conservative Federation Gala in Columbia later on Friday, before heading to National Harbor, Maryland, to deliver CPAC remarks outside Washington, DC on Saturday morning.
Trump’s base in South Carolina was excited to show up to his rally on Saturday.
“I voted for Trump because I believe in him,” North Charleston resident Mary Ann Cole, 77, told DailyMail.com.
“I think they tied his hands and they’re doing all this shit, forgive me, they’ve thrown so much trash at him and he’s still there, he didn’t run away,” Cole added.
The retiree said she would have been willing to vote for Haley, but she didn’t like how Trump has been treated.
Retired couple Bob, 88, and Kathy Kean, 76, of Charleston, said Saturday outside the Hunley Park Elementary School polling place in North Charleston that they were voting for Trump.
“I’m voting for Trump because I think he’s the strongest candidate and can get our country out of this gigantic mess we’re in,” Kathy said.
Her husband said, “I was almost going to vote for Haley because Trump was disparaging her husband.” He is deployed. “That made me angry because he didn’t need to do that.”
Bob added: “We like Trump.”
“In general, though it’s not politically correct,” Kathy said, finishing her husband’s sentence.
However, Kathy said she wasn’t worried about Trump’s brusque style when voters go to the polls in the fall.
“I think people are too upset, they’ve already had it, it’s not a question,” he said. ‘We love [Haley]We love all those candidates, they’re all great. When they started, I thought, ‘My God, why don’t we have a full panel of presidents?’