Pro-Trump pollster says Haley will suffer ‘smackdown’ in South Carolina

A Pro-Trump pollster predicted Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley will suffer a “smackdown” in her home state of South Carolina come late February.

In a private memo shared with supporters and donors, the former president’s pollster, Tony Fabrizio, showcased that the current GOP front-runner is set to sweep the South Carolina first-in-the-South primary by a 39-point margin. 

“President Trump is set to deliver a South Carolina smackdown to Nikki Haley in her home state where she is best known,” Fabrizio said in the memo. 

Fabrizio, who was Trump’s chief pollster in 2016 and 2020, found that the 45th president has 64 percent support in South Carolina, far ahead of Haley’s 25 percent. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who prioritized the Palmetto State over New Hampshire, sits at 8 percent. 

The polling also showed the potential assertiveness of Trump supporters that far exceeded Haley’s home-state base. Fifty-eight percent of Trump backers said they will “definitely” vote for him, far more than the 18 percent who claimed the same thing about the former South Carolina governor. 

Fabrizio’s data sets a high bar for Trump, who is coming off a dominant showing in Iowa where he won the caucuses by 30 points and is looking to secure a New Hampshire primary victory Tuesday. 

The former president picked up more steam Friday with a looming endorsement of Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). The Republican senator, who dropped his White House bid in November, bucked Haley, who originally appointed him to the upper chamber when she was the governor of South Carolina. 

The data in the memo shows that in the case of DeSantis dropping out, more of his supporters would go to Trump than Haley. 

The survey was conducted by asking 600 South Carolina voters who are likely to partake in the Feb. 24 primary. 

The shared memo was first reported by Axios.