Former President Donald Trump continued the winning streak GOP presidential primary Saturday, notching a A win in South Carolina thanks again to its dominance among key Republican voters.
Trump left the path he took to victory Iowa and New Hampshire Earlier this year, South Carolina’s GOP won majorities from nearly every major group in the primary electorate, according to NBC News exit polls. Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley has struggled to garner additional support from moderates and independents in her home state.
Here are four key sets of numbers that help explain Trump decisive victory On Haley in South Carolina:
1. Trump’s dominance among the GOP base
Self-described Republicans made up the vast majority (68%) of South Carolina’s primary electorate on Saturday, and Trump again won those voters by a wide margin, 72% to Haley’s 28%.
Trump also won majorities in traditional Republican voting blocs: 85% of very conservative voters, 74% of white evangelicals, 67% of military veterans, and 88% of almost half of Republican primary voters who said they were part of the MAGA movement. .
2. Haley’s small coalition
Haley had some success among the more moderate voters and non-Republicans who turned out to vote in the South Carolina GOP primary, but they made up smaller shares of the electorate.
The former South Carolina governor won an overwhelming majority of voters who identified as moderate or liberal, 72% to Trump’s 27%, but they accounted for only a fifth of the primary vote. Haley also carried independents, who made up just 21% of the electorate, although she won them by 19 points, narrower than Trump’s margin with Republicans.
While Haley managed to win 81% of voters who believed that President Joe Biden had legitimately won the 2020 election, they were only one-third of the electorate.
Haley narrowly won a group where she may have had more of an opening: college graduates. He won 51% of them, just 3 points ahead of Trump.
Haley’s two main messages in the final days of the race — getting elected and respecting the military — also failed to resonate. Only 16% of primary voters believe Trump can’t beat Biden in November. Despite Haley’s claim that Trump disrespects the military, including her husband, Trump also won 17% of voters who served in the military.
3. The main problems of voters favored Trump
A majority of South Carolina GOP primary participants said immigration and the economy were the two issues that most determined their vote. And those voters overwhelmingly preferred Trump.
Among the 37% of voters who said immigration was a top issue, Trump won 82%, while Haley won just 18%. Among the 33% of voters who said the economy was their main problem, Trump won 64% and Haley 36%.
Haley topped Trump among voters who said foreign policy and abortion were their top issues, but those voters made up only a fifth of the primary electorate.
4. Voters made up their minds before Haley’s promotion
Trump’s landslide victory also comes as he said a large majority of voters who went to the polls on Saturday had decided which candidate they would support even before the primary contests took place last month. Trump and Haley.
A whopping 77% said they had decided who they would support before January, and three-quarters of those voters backed Trump. Only 7% decided who to vote for in January, 7% in early February, and 8% in the last week.