Republican voters in South Carolina favor former President Donald Trump for the 2024 presidential nomination even though he is set to face key Palmetto State figures, according to a new poll.
The Winthrop University poll said Mr. Trump leads the pack with 41% support from GOP voters while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who hasn’t yet announced a bid, barely edges out confirmed candidate, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, 20% to 18%.
South Carolina’s primary arrives early in the 2024 calendar, following the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, so it should play a pivotal role in who gets the nomination.
The poll, released Wednesday, was 80% complete on the day that Mr. Trump was formally indicted in New York on charges of falsifying business records tied to hush payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. He has denied the allegations.
The ex-president says his legal troubles are a political witch hunt, and so far there hasn’t been evidence of a sharp drop in support for him among GOP primary voters.
“Trump is riding high and doubling support over the next candidate in the field. Haley shows more than quadruple her support compared to national polls, but that should be expected on her home turf,” Winthrop Poll Director Scott Huffmon said. “While DeSantis is viewed as the singular alternative to Trump in national polls, the real story here is that Haley and DeSantis are in a statistical dead heat in what could be a firewall for Haley when voting rolls around.”
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who announced an exploratory committee for president after the poll was performed, drew 7% from GOP voters in his home state while 5% supported former Vice President Mike Pence, who hasn’t announced whether he will run.
Two percent support former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and 1% backed New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who is running, was listed as a possibility in the poll but didn’t register a full percentage point of support.
Winthrop released the poll as the GOP field is still taking shape. Mr. DeSantis is expected to launch a bid sometime this year and is considered the most formidable rival to Mr. Trump, who has begun flinging attacks at the Florida governor.
Yet Mrs. Haley holds formidable sway in South Carolina. A majority — 53% — of all South Carolinians hold a favorable opinion of her compared to about 30% unfavorable, and the split is 73%-14% among Republican voters.
Only 43% of South Carolinians hold a favorable view of Mr. Trump compared to 48% with an unfavorable view but he is wildly popular with Republican voters alone, at 75% compared to 17% who think unfavorably of him.
The findings were from a general population poll of 1,657 adults with a margin of error of 2.41% and a breakout group of 485 registered Republicans with a margin of error of 4.45%. It was performed from March 25 to April 1.
