Trump wins South Carolina; Haley staying in race

Former President Donald Trump won the South Carolina Republican presidential primary on Saturday. He garnered about 59.8 percent of the votes, while former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley received 39.5 percent.

South Carolina voters who cast their ballots for Haley remained energized in the face of a home-state loss. Speaking from a hotel ballroom in downtown Charleston, Haley congratulated Trump on his win and assured a small gathering of supporters that she’s staying in the race. “I'm not giving up this fight when a majority of Americans disapprove of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” Haley said to applause. “I'm grateful to South Carolina, and I'm grateful that today is not the end of our story.”

Haley won three liberal-leaning counties—Richland, Charleston, and Beaufort. The Trump campaign has said Haley’s popularity among Democrats and independents shows she lacks conservative bona fides. On Saturday night, Haley said the most important thing is defeating President Joe Biden in November.

What does this mean for the Republican race? Trump has won four primary season contests, including Nevada’s Republican caucuses earlier this month. In Nevada’s separate primary, more voters opted for “none of these candidates” than voted for Haley. Michigan’s presidential primaries for Democrats and Republicans will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 27, and its Republican caucuses will take place on Saturday, March 2. Idaho and Missouri’s presidential caucuses will also take place on that date. “Super Tuesday” is three days later, when 15 other states will hold their primaries. 

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s report in The Stew about Republican voters in South Carolina.

Editor’s note: WORLD has updated this report from its initial posting.