Former President Donald Trump remains a huge favorite to defeat former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in her home state, according to a new poll.
A CBS News/YouGov poll released on Monday shows that the former president is favored by 65 percent of South Carolinians likely to vote in the state's upcoming GOP primary, while Haley is the choice of just 30 percent of voters.
Trump voters seemed less willing to change their vote, with only 13 percent saying they might switch preferences, compared to 22 percent for Haley. Eighty-two percent of GOP voters said they approved of Trump's performance as president, while 60 percent were satisfied with Haley's tenure as governor.
A majority of 75 percent said that Haley being from South Carolina made "no difference" in their choice of candidates, with 20 percent saying that they were more likely to vote for the former governor as a result and 5 percent saying they were less likely.
While nearly half of the GOP voters reportedly identified themselves as members of Trump's "MAGA movement," 76 percent said that Haley was not also part of the movement. Just 23 percent of Trump voters said that the former president's ongoing legal troubles were a valid reason to consider Haley.
Trump was also viewed by South Carolina Republicans as more likely to defeat President Joe Biden in November, despite other polls having consistently shown that Haley has a significant head-to-head advantage over Biden when compared to Trump.
In the CBS News poll, 55 percent of GOP voters insisted that Trump would "definitely" defeat Biden in the general election, while only 33 percent said the same of Haley.
Newsweek reached out for comment to the Trump and Haley campaigns via email on Monday night.
Other polls have been similarly encouraging for the former president. An average of recent polls compiled by RealClearPolitics has Trump leading Haley in South Carolina by 30.7 points.
The gap is even wider in many other states, while Trump holds an average edge of 74.3 percent to 18.1 percent over Haley in national polling for the Republican nomination.
Haley, who served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, has vowed to stay in the race despite her polling deficit.
During a Fox News interview earlier this month, Haley argued that she did not "have to win" her home state, insisting that her goal was "to continue to show that we're strong" in the South Carolina primary, which is set to take place on February 24.
The poll released on Monday was conducted among 1,483 registered South Carolina voters—including 1,004 Republicans—between February 5 and February 10. Questions involving the GOP primary had a margin of error of 4.4 percent.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more
