Haley Hits Road in South Carolina; Trump Schedules Single Rally

CHARLESTON, S.C. — With just 16 days to go before the South Carolina Republican primary, the two candidates are taking markedly different approaches to campaigning in the state.

As of Thursday morning, former President Donald Trump, who held a 26 percentage-point lead over former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the most recent Washington Post/Monmouth University poll, had only one campaign event planned.

That event is a get-out-the-vote rally at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina, this coming Saturday afternoon.

In the meantime, Haley plans what she is calling her “Beast of the Southeast” bus tour, starting on Saturday and running through primary day, Feb. 24.

According to her campaign, the “beast” will “traverse hundreds of miles with more than 30 stops, including Haley’s hometown of Bamberg, her college stomping grounds in Clemson, and Lexington, where she and Michael raised their children.”

“Early voting in South Carolina begins on Feb. 12, and the bus tour is geared toward turning voters out to the polls,” the campaign said.

Haley’s team said Thursday that during the tour she will remind South Carolina voters of her successes as governor of the state between 2011 and 2017, particularly in regard to cutting taxes, economic development, toughening state immigration laws and moving 35,000 people from welfare to work.

“Under Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina became an economic powerhouse, earning the nickname ‘The Beast of the Southeast,’” said Haley spokesperson Brittany Yanick in a written statement. 

“The Beast of the Southeast bus tour is a testament to Nikki’s hard work and firm belief that every vote must be earned. While Donald Trump uses his campaign as a personal legal defense slush fund, Nikki is fighting to save our country and put Americans first,” Yanick added.

The first two days of Haley’s bus tour will see her making stops at the Newberry Opera House in Newberry, the Uptown Market in Greenwood and The Grove on Augusta, in Gilbert.

A fourth stop is planned but has yet to be announced.

Haley also has three fundraisers planned in South Carolina in the coming days. On Monday, she’ll participate in a private fundraiser in the state capital of Columbia. On Tuesday, she’ll be holding a private fundraiser in Charleston, and, on Monday, Feb. 19, she’ll hold a final, pre-primary fundraiser in Greenville.

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