Nikki Haley and Tim Scott, the two South Carolina Republicans battling for the presidency, are hoping their home state gives them the boost they need to challenge former President Donald Trump for the GOP nomination — with officials from both campaigns telling The Post they believe the 77-year-old’s Palmetto State polling lead is not insurmountable.
Scott, 58, was appointed to the Senate by Haley, then South Carolina’s governor, in 2012 and has held the seat ever since.
“He’s been campaigning heavily in Iowa and New Hampshire, but South Carolina – we have all the intention of winning. And he wants to win his home state,” a Scott campaign official told The Post on condition of anonymity.
If the polls are right, Scott would need a comeback unseen in modern American politics.
A Winthrop University survey out Tuesday showed Trump leading the field among registered South Carolina Republicans with 50.5% support, followed by Haley (16.6%) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (12.1%). Scott was a distant fourth at 5.8%, narrowly ahead of entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (5.1%).
The Scott campaign is banking on name recognition following his successful Senate re-election bid in 2022 and endorsements from more than 140 elected officials and 265 local grassroots leaders in the state, as well as what they call his “robust” fundraising operation and the campaign’s ground game.
“Every Republican who has voted in South Carolina has voted for Tim Scott in the past election,” the official added. “His name recognition is much higher in South Carolina than it is elsewhere in the country.”
“I’m honored with the outpouring of support from grassroots leaders and activists from across my home state,” Scott told The Post. “I’m going to continue to take our conservative message from sea to shining sea. South Carolina is home, and I look forward to earning support across the state so that together we can restore hope, create opportunities, and protect the America we love.”
Meanwhile, Haley is enjoying a fall surge in the polls after strong performances in the first two Republican primary debates.
Though she resigned the governorship in 2017 to become Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, the Haley campaign is leaning heavily on her track record, which included reductions in taxes and unemployment.
The campaign has also touted several South Carolina events with crowds of more than 1,000 people, which officials say signals a strong base of support in the state.
While Haley and Scott’s focus on their home state is understandable, veteran politicos warn that even if they do pull off an unlikely success, it may be too late to stop Trump from claiming the nomination.
“South Carolina is probably do or die. It also depends on what happens before then. If Trump steamrolls the early states, I’m not sure South Carolina will have much of an impact,” Republican strategist John Thomas told The Post.
“If they don’t win in any of the early states, including South Carolina, I suppose that would be the final nail in the coffin.”
“Neither of them, I think, can endure a loss in South Carolina if they think they can make any claim to the nomination,” agreed Republican strategist Jason Roe, t and former executive director of the Michigan GOP.
The dynamics of the race also mean Haley and Scott have been forced into increasingly heated conflict with each other, though Scott has insisted the two are “friends” and will remain so even after the election.
But niceties were tossed aside at last week’s second debate, with Scott accusing Haley of purchasing $50,000 worth of curtains during her time as ambassador to the UN and repeatedly claiming she proposed a gas tax increase while governor.
Haley is “from the same state so of course there’s going to be people who have voted for both of them and will have to choose. But I think at the end of the day, it’s about persuasion,” the Scott official said, arguing he can get “all the voters to unify around him.”
“Tim Scott’s message and personal story resonates with voters of all ages and backgrounds because of his optimistic vision for the country of creating opportunity and restoring hope. Tim will continue to be the candidate willing and able to go where other candidates won’t, which is why the Left fears him the most,” spokesperson Nicole Morales told The Post.
“South Carolinians know how hard Nikki fought for taxpayers and jobs, and how she took on the establishment and won when she was governor,” said Haley rep Ken Farnaso. “They’re seeing the same toughness on the presidential debate stage and are rallying to her side.
“She takes nothing for granted but is confident she’ll do very well in South Carolina.”