South Carolina GOP Certifies Primary Ballot
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Republican Party on Thursday officially certified seven candidates to appear on its presidential primary ballot.
The list of qualifying candidates for the Feb. 24 primary election was certified and signed by South Carolina GOP Chairman Drew McKissick, who then sent the document to the state’s Election Commission.
The candidates who will appear on the ballot are (in alphabetical order):
- Business consultant and wealth advisor Ryan Binkley.
- Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
- Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
- Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
- Entrepreneur David Stuckenberg.
- Former President Donald J. Trump.
The latest Winthrop University poll, conducted in November, showed Trump with a commanding lead among South Carolina voters, with 52% of Republicans saying they support him.
The poll found 17% of Republican registered voters in the state support former Gov. Nikki Haley’s nomination, while 12% support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“Haley continues her steady lead over DeSantis for the distant second choice among South Carolina Republicans,” said Winthrop Poll Director Scott Huffmon last month.
“Former Gov. Haley does a couple of percentage points better when independents who lean Republican are included in the mix. Unfortunately for her campaign, it is harder to get this group to the polls in a primary, so the question becomes, how much money is it worth to spend to reach this group?” he continued.
“With Haley in a steady second, further growth in her South Carolina support may depend on getting those former Tim Scott voters on board early and showing strength and momentum in Iowa and New Hampshire,” he said, referring to Sen. Tim Scott, who dropped out of the race earlier this year.
“Even with those pieces of the puzzle falling into place, overcoming Trump’s commanding lead is a very tall order,” he added.
Still an important figure in the state, Haley is viewed as very or somewhat favorable by 59% of South Carolina registered voters, the poll found.
Among Republicans, this percentage increases to 71%. Donald Trump is less favorable among all registered voters in the state with 45% viewing him as very or somewhat favorable but is slightly more favorable than Haley among Republicans at 77%.
Though slightly less favorable within the Republican Party, Haley is less polarizing than Trump with far more Democrats holding a favorable view of her than of Trump.
The poll was conducted and released a full month before Haley’s campaign trail gaffe this week in New Hampshire, when she didn’t include slavery in her answer to a question about the causes of the Civil War.
Asked to name the causes of the Civil War by an attendee at a campaign stop in Berlin, New Hampshire, Haley initially said the cause “basically” boiled down to “how government was going to run, the freedoms, and what people could and couldn’t do.”
“I think it always comes down to the role of government and what the rights of the people are,” she continued, as her inquisitor pressed further. “And I will always stand by the fact that I think the government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people. It was never meant to be all things to all people. Government doesn’t need to tell you how to live your life.”
Haley, the first woman of color to ever lead South Carolina as its governor, famously signed legislation to remove the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina statehouse grounds in the wake of the racially charged killing of nine Black parishioners at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston eight years ago.
After Haley’s lengthy answer, the questioner seemed to rebuke Haley, saying, “In the year 2023, it’s astonishing to me that you answer that question without mentioning the word ‘slavery.’”
“What do you want me to say about slavery?” Haley said, clearly frustrated, before abruptly moving on to the next question.
On Thursday, Haley attempted to walk back her comments during an appearance on a New Hampshire radio talk show.
“Of course the Civil War was about slavery, that’s the easy part,” she said.
“Yes, I know it was about slavery. I am from the South,” she continued, adding that she believed the questioner was a plant from the Democratic Party.
The Winthrop poll also included a question about the Civil War and specifically what to do with Confederate monuments and memorials to Confederate soldiers that haven’t been taken down.
A plurality (36%) of respondents prefer to leave them just as they are. Thirty percent want to leave them but add a plaque or marker for context and historical interpretation.
Twenty-two percent would like them moved to a museum, while only 8% want them removed completely. Among Black respondents, most (38%) want these monuments and memorials moved to a museum.
When it comes to the Confederate battle flag, 41% think it is more a symbol of Southern pride than it is of racial conflict, but White and Black respondents differed on the issue. Half of White respondents view the flag as a symbol of Southern pride while 61% of Black respondents say it is more a symbol of racial conflict.
“The racial differences we see in questions about Confederate monuments and the Confederate battle flag are stark,” Huffmon said. “Many would like to paper over these issues and ‘put it behind us.’ As our research in poll after poll shows, this divisive issue continues to simmer just beneath the surface in our state.”
Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue
