COLUMBIA, S.C. — After months of campaigning touting her accomplishments as Palmetto governor, Nikki Haley's roots in her home state are serving her well as South Carolinians head into the Republican primary on Saturday. It doesn't look like that.

Former President Donald Trump is currently take the lead Haley has double-digit support in South Carolina's primary polls and has the support of a majority of the state's top Republicans. While Mr. Haley has sought to remind former voters of his own accomplishments as an executive, South Carolinians who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation primarily cited other factors that motivated them to vote. He cites various reasons.

“I think she had a good record, but I think what she's doing now, that kind of attitude, is a wasteful act and a waste of resources. All those funds will go to the general election. It's possible. I think all she has to do is show a little decency and cancel her campaign. [President Joe] Biden,” Tony Birx of Columbia, 74, a former business owner, told DCNF. “[Trump] He did a great job, and he's about the only person I know who can straighten out this whole mess, and we've made a lot of messes. ”

Birx, a Republican who supported Trump in 2016 and 2020, told DCNF that immigration and inflation were the main factors driving her to vote for the former president. (Related: Trailing by double digits, Nikki Haley makes final plea for votes in home state)

John Newton, a 67-year-old Army veteran who also lives in Columbia, told DCNF that he supports Trump over Haley because of her background in the White House.Haley, a Republican, did not live in the state at the time. provided The governor, who served as governor from 2011 to 2017, cited the economy, border security, crime, a “disrupted education system” and shaky green energy policies as his top concerns.

“I heard she was OK, but in my opinion, Trump has been proven. His policies have worked,” Newton said. “You may not like parts of him, and I don't like many of his character flaws either. But who's perfect? ​​He's strong. He knows.” His stuff worked. Ours was much better. That's the question you should ask people. Is your life better now than it was four years ago? No.”

A CBS News/YouGov poll released on February 12 found that a majority of South Carolinians did not consider Haley's roots in her home state ahead of the primary. Only 20% of likely Republican primary voters in the state said they were more likely to vote for the former governor because she is from South Carolina, and 89% said they were more likely to vote for her from South Carolina. He was more interested in national issues than in issues.

Speaking to a crowd of South Carolinians in Myrtle Beach on Thursday night, Haley touted her accomplishments as governor, including strengthening manufacturing, cutting taxes, lowering unemployment, cracking down on illegal immigration and implementing voter ID. The former governor served three terms in the state Legislature and was successfully elected twice.

Many Trump supporters who spoke with DCNF disapprove of Haley's bid for governor, but believe the former president is qualified for the job anyway.

Cindy Lee, a semi-retired Lancaster resident who works at Flopai Diner, supported Mr. Trump in the primary. Republicans told DCNF that the cost of living is a key issue heading into the election.

“I've been disabled for 24 years and I have to do this to make up for it, because it's not enough,” Lee said.

Lee believes Haley was a good governor, but was critical of Haley's resignation from the Trump administration as ambassador to the United Nations in 2017 before the end of her term.

“That's because, especially for the younger generation, it's, 'Okay, if you don't like what you're doing, you can quit in a year or so and do something else,'” Lee said. DCNF. “It's never the follow-through, and that's the part I don't like, the follow-through. Call me old-fashioned or whatever, but I was raised to start something and see it through to the end.” I left.”

Lawrence Phillips, a former fence worker from Rock Hill, told DCNF there was “no one better” than Trump and criticized Haley's record in the state during the gas tax hike.

“She doesn't care about damn people. Did she think it was wrong for South Carolina to get gas for 40 cents a gallon cheaper than anywhere else? No. I thought it was a blessing, not a curse. Is she going to go change that? Nikki Haley could go to hell,” Phillips told DCNF.

Kristen Hanrath, of Lake Wylie, told DCNF she doesn't remember much of Haley's time as governor and that “she had no impact.” The 42-year-old interior painting business owner is a longtime Trump supporter.

“He cares about us and there's no need for him to do what he does. He should retire, but he's fighting for us,” Hanrus said. “The trial and everything is going to reveal who these people really are, and he's literally draining the swamp trying to make America a better place.”

Another Trump supporter, Christina DiFiore, 48, a Rock Hill driver, did not support Haley when she was governor, telling DCNF that “she made the wrong decisions for the people of South Carolina.” Ta. Independents who consider themselves “very conservative” are most concerned about immigration, human trafficking and the economy.

“He knows how to run a country, he knows how to put people in their positions, and he doesn't take anything away from anyone,” DiFiore said.

Although Haley voters were primarily more supportive of the former governor's tenure, they acknowledged that their decision to vote for her was more of a protest vote against Trump.

Dana Cousins, an independent voter in her early 50s who supported Biden in 2020, believes Haley was an “excellent” governor. A human resources manager in Columbia told DCNF that she supported Haley in the primary to “defend democracy.”

“Honestly, this is a protest vote. I really don't want to see Donald Trump in the White House for another four years,” Cousins ​​said. “I thought Nikki Haley would be a great governor for our state. I'm more of a fiscal conservative and social liberal, so I weigh my votes based on what's best for the community as a whole. And , and that means not only our American community, but our South Carolina community as well.”

South Carolina isn't like that. register It categorizes voters by party affiliation and allows all registered voters to participate in the primary of their choice. The Democratic primary election was held on February 3, and Biden won an overwhelming victory with 96.2% support.

Paul Morris, a moderate who voted for Biden in the last election, told DCNF that he decided to vote in the Republican primary instead because he felt his vote had more impact.

“I thought she was OK,” the 40-year-old firefighter from Columbia told DCNF about Haley's appointment as governor. “I thought she was a traditional conservative and she had traditional conservative principles. [these] I think the Times is admirable, good leadership style, good strong policies, but not too radical. I wouldn't say she was a relative moderate, but I think she was a relative moderate at this time. I like that. ”

Conversely, Democratic engineer Randy Cottrell of Columbia, who voted for Haley on Saturday, criticized the former governor's tenure.

“I like Nikki Haley. She was a nice person, but I'm not a liberal,” Cottrell told DCNF. “Biggest beef I had against Nikki Haley” [sic] That means we should have fixed our roads 20 years ago, when gas prices were less than $2 a gallon, instead of waiting until now to get this money from Biden to fix our roads. I'm upset about that because these roads should already be under construction. They had a chance to do something really good and they didn't do it. ”

The 72-year-old Democrat said he intended to vote for Biden two weeks ago but couldn't make it to the polls in time. Cottrell, whose top issues include abortion, voting rights and preserving democracy, told DCNF that she is supporting Haley in the Republican primary “as a way to vote against Donald Trump.”

The former governor placed third in the Iowa caucuses on January 15 and second to Trump in the New Hampshire primary a week later. Haley did not contest for delegates in Nevada, instead losing the Feb. 6 primary to the “None of These Candidates” option.

Haley's campaign did not immediately respond to DCNF's request for comment.

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