By Abraham Kenmore
SCDailyGazette.com
COLUMBIA — Former Gov. Nikki Haley’s first campaign event in South Carolina since the GOP contest effectively became a two-way race will be literally close to home.
Haley, who lives on Kiawah Island, will hold a rally at the Hilton Charleston on Wednesday night. It marks her first campaign stop here since Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out on Sunday, saying he had no clear path to victory. The race now essentially comes down to Haley and her former boss, Donald Trump.
It also comes the day after the New Hampshire primary, where Haley has been steadily gaining in the polls but still trails the former president, according to poll aggregator 538.
Haley’s last public event in her home state was Nov. 27 in Bluffton. Since then, she has focused on Iowa — where she came in third to DeSantis and Trump — and New Hampshire.
“You know, Iowa starts it. You know that you correct it,” Haley told a crowd in the Granite State ahead of the Iowa caucuses. “And then my sweet state of South Carolina brings it home.”
The rally in North Charleston marks the start of Haley’s month-long push before South Carolina’s crucial first-in-the-South GOP primary on Feb. 24. Polls show her trailing Trump by 35 points, according to 538.
Seven Republican candidates are on South Carolina’s primary ballot. But three candidates have dropped out since the ballot was certified: Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and DeSantis. DeSantis and Scott have both endorsed Trump in the past week.
Beyond Trump and Haley, two extreme long-shot candidates remain in the race: Pastor Ryan Binkley of Texas and veteran Air Force combat pilot David Stuckenberg of Florida.
South Carolina’s primary will follow Nevada, where Haley is almost guaranteed to win the state-run primary, but that won’t help her with delegates. Those will be assigned based on a separate caucus held by the Nevada GOP Party, for which Haley declined to register. Trump, however, did.
Abraham Kenmore is a reporter covering elections, health care and more. He joins the S.C. Daily Gazette from The Augusta Chronicle, where he reported on Georgia legislators, military and housing issues.
