- South Carolina holds its Republican presidential primary on Saturday
- Nikki Haley outspent Donald Trump on ads in her home state more than 14 to 1
- Polls leading up to the South Carolina primary showed Haley trailing by double digits
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If political advertising won the election, Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley would completely crush it in South Carolina against Donald Trump. But it’s not like that.
Haley and groups supporting him have outspent the former GOP chairman nearly 15 to 1 ahead of the first southern primary contest on Saturday. They have spent about $15 million on ad buys, while the Trump campaign and support groups have spent a fraction of that amount, just over $1 million.
But in the days before the primary, the former president was leading Haley in the polls by double digits. The USA Today/Suffolk poll of likely Republican primary voters gave Trump 63 percent, while Haley had 35 percent in his home state.
On Friday, Haley argued that the goal of the contest is to be “competitive.” She has been crisscrossing the state campaigning much more intensely than Trump while making his closing argument: America can’t have more of the same with President Biden and Trump. She has also stepped up her attacks on the former Republican president, and the final ads promoting Haley reflect that.
In a 30-second Haley campaign ad airing in South Carolina television markets, footage of Trump and Biden is shown while a narrator says “when your country is divided, your president must unite us.” Cut to images of Haley. The narrator continues: “she ran to revive our state and she succeeded.” He ends with Haley saying that she is running for a “strong” and “proud” America.
The pro-Haley Super PAC SFA Fund Inc has also been running ads in the state using clips from Haley’s recent “state of the race” speech in which she attacked Trump by calling him “unhinged.”
Watching just one hour of prime-time television in South Carolina, viewers would likely be subjected to a barrage of frequently repeated Haley ads.
Haley’s final message in her campaign ad in South Carolina is how she is running for a “strong” and “proud” America. The Pro-Haley Super PAC SFA Fund Inc. has also been running ads using clips of her “state of the race” speech in which she accuses Trump of being “unstable” and “unhinged.”
Trump has been airing ads in South Carolina attacking Haley over the Social Security issue. It’s the same ad his campaign aired in New Hampshire. The campaign is also airing ads nationally criticizing Haley over immigration.
Trump held a rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on the eve of the South Carolina primary, where polls have him leading by double digits.
Haley campaigning in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, on Friday. Her final argument is that she can win the general election and Trump cannot.
While Trump was also airing ads in South Carolina ahead of the primary, as well as his campaign appearances in the state, the ads were noticeably less frequent.
Her campaign ad targeted Haley over welfare reforms, accusing her of wanting to cut Social Security. She used a clip of Haley talking about the need to change her retirement age. The same ad also previously aired in New Hampshire.
Trump has also been criticizing Haley over the immigration issue with an ad that airs nationally. In it, the narrator criticizes Haley as “too weak to protect America” ​​while claiming that Trump will do so.
As Haley has vowed to keep fighting no matter what happens in the South Carolina primary, she has also moved forward with buying advertising in future primary races.
His campaign recently appeared with an ad in Michigan, where its primary will be held on February 27. In it, Haley appears on camera calling for a “new generation” and a “new conservative president.”
On Friday, his campaign also announced a seven-figure ad buy in Super Tuesday states, including ads on cable television and digital platforms. Voters in sixteen states will go to the polls on Super Tuesday, March 5, when 874 delegates will be at stake.
“As we look at the road ahead of us, we know this is an uphill battle, we know the road is difficult, we know the math is challenging,” Betsy Ankney, Haley’s campaign manager, said in a call to announce the elections. future advertising purchases. with journalists. But she said she has never just been about winning a Republican primary but about who can defeat Democrats in November.