by Sharon Rondeau
(Feb. 24, 2024) — Major media reported Saturday night that former President Donald J. Trump has won the South Carolina 2024 Republican presidential primary over fellow candidate and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley by approximately 20 points.
The polls closed at 7:00 p.m. EST, shortly after which Fox News and other outlets projected Trump the winner, albeit with less than 20% of total votes counted.
Trump’s victory added to a four-state string of primary wins, beginning with the Iowa caucuses on January 15 and the New Hampshire primary February 1. The Nevada and U.S. Virgin Islands caucuses were held February 8 and won handily by Trump.
Nevada held both a Republican caucus and a primary two days earlier. Haley did not compete in the former, but her name was on the ballot for the February 6 primary; she lost that contest to “None of these candidates.”
Despite the results in her home state Saturday, as on Tuesday from Clemson University, Haley told supporters she will continue her quest for the presidency in the Michigan primary this coming Tuesday and Super Tuesday on March 5, when 16 more states and American Samoa hold Republican or all-inclusive presidential primaries.
Trump appears to have shifted his strategy from competing with Haley, the only remaining Republican contender seen as having a chance at defeating him, to a general-election strategy.
As voting unfolded, Trump spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, MD Saturday afternoon, then departed for South Carolina to learn the results of the primary.