Once again, Republican contender Nikki Haley has been defeated by former president Donald Trump.
The South Carolina primary defeat effectively spells the end of viability for the Haley campaign.
In her home state of South Carolina, Donald Trump did a victory lap around the former governor.
BREAKING.?
Donald Trump defeats Nikki Haley in her home state of South Carolina within a minute of polls opening. This race is OVER.pic.twitter.com/FyIxatysa7
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) February 25, 2024
While Fox News correctly called South Carolina for Donald Trump, viewers may have been misled by the omission of an important fact that gave the false appearance that Republican voters who pulled the lever for Haley would refuse to support Trump in the general election.
“You have to wonder if all those Nikki Haley voters will go on to support Donald Trump in November if he does indeed become the eventual nominee,” Fox News’ Shannon Smith said. “So here’s the findings. When we asked, 39% say they’ll stay with the GOP nominee, but look at that number. 59% who are supporting Nikki Haley say they will not go on to support Donald Trump in the general election that’s among Republican primary voters. So that’s the very latest that we have for you.”
Here’s the problem: South Carolina has an open primary system.
That means Democratic Party voters (and Independent voters) can cross party lines and vote against Donald Trump in the Republican primaries.
That’s exactly what they did, just like Democratic and Independent voters did even in hybrid primaries like in New Hampshire.
NBC News reported on the exit polls, which showed exactly what you would expect.
“Trump overwhelmingly won the support of men and women (68% and 62%, respectively), voters under 45 and those over 45 (64% and 65%), voters with and without college degrees (51% and 75%), and self-identified Republicans (73%),” NBC News noted.
“Trump also continued his primary season streak of garnering majority support across traditional Republican voting blocs: 86% of very conservative voters, 75% of white evangelicals, 68% of veterans and 89% of the almost half of voters who say they are part of the MAGA movement,” the media outlet continued.
“Haley’s support today came from independents, where she beat Trump 54% to 43%, and moderates, where she beat Trump 67% to 32%,” NBC News added.
A Democrat admitted to voting against Trump in the open primary:
Democrat admits to voting for Nikki Haley in South Carolina’s open primary:
“I voted for Nikki Haley, simply to maybe cancel out one of the Donald Trump votes.” pic.twitter.com/hczdoAaONd
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) February 24, 2024
“Fox News is very dishonest not mentioning that South Carolina had Democrats voting for Nikki Haley,” Big Fish complained on X. “Open Primary, Nikki courted Democrat voters who only voted for her to hurt Donald Trump.”
If dishonest Democrats are willing to openly admit to rigging a Republican primary against Donald Trump, why wouldn’t they rig the general election?
