a survey of more than 2,400 Republican primary voters in South Carolina conducted for AP by NORC at the University of Chicago, found that half of Republican voters, including 25% of his supporters, worry that Trump is too extreme to win the general election.
Trump friends say Haley encourages left-wing voting in open Republican primaries. They found 19% of Haley voters in South Carolina were Democrats or leaning Democrats. However, 72% were GOP or leaning GOP.
About 3 in 10 South Carolina primary voters believe he committed a crime, even though three-quarters believe the investigations are political attempts to discredit him.
“We’ve been tightening the belt as much as we can, but can’t think about having kids until we can afford it,” said 27-year-old Minnetonka contractor Jonathan Paquette. This campaign should focus on that, not lawsuits and charges. That doesn't fix our issues." Trump “repulses me,” said 64-year-old former lab worker Lori Jacobson from Monticello, a small town northwest of the Twin Cities. She supported Trump in 2016 but not 2020.
Jacobson: “It’s all about revenge with him. She stated Haley “has a calm that stands in such contrast to him, though she is a very strong woman.” Some voters in Haley's post-South Carolina states have caught up on that rhetoric.
“Forty percent is better than no percent,” remarked Williamston, Michigan Uber driver Alyssa Prevo as she waited for Haley before a Monday event in Grand Rapids. Prevo, a war veteran, said she was a longtime Republican but had voted Democratic. “Forty percent is a lot, even though she lost her home state,” Prevo remarked. “People focus on losing; I don't. She is honest. I think integrity encompasses everything she has.”
Nearly 9 in 10 Haley voters in South Carolina said they would not vote for Trump as the Republican Party's presidential nominee, 7 in 10 thought he lacks the mental capacity to serve as president, and 6 in 10 would not vote for him. The Trump campaign may not have to address Haley again, and they expect many dissatisfied Republicans to support the former president in a Biden-Trump rematch.
As additional states hold “winner-take-all” primaries, Haley could forfeit her mathematical chance of becoming the nominee in the coming weeks if she closes the gap with Trump. Haley and her staff said they won't prepare beyond Super Tuesday. Indeed, Haley has not announced her post-contest campaign. AdImpact reports that her campaign has not booked any television or internet advertising beyond Super Tuesday.
“That’s as far as we’ve thought so far,” Haley said Saturday. We've taken it one state, one month at a time, and focused on that—that's what's brought us here—discipline, hard work, being smarter than everyone else, and doing whatever it takes to scrappy to finish.”
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