Nikki Haley sets sights on South Carolina in uphill climb against Trump

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• Amna Nawaz:

  Nikki Haley faces an uphill climb in the next state on the primary map, South Carolina, where she was raised and served as governor.

  The state was also key to President Biden's victory in the 2020 primary and now could serve as a signal on his standing with black voters nationwide.

  To discuss what to watch in the Palmetto State, I'm joined now by South Carolina Public Radio's Thelisa Eaddy.

  Thelisha, it's great to see you.

  Let's start with the Republican race in South Carolina, Nikki Haley's home state. She's a former governor. Will Republican primary voters choose her over former President Trump?

• Thelisa Eaddy, South Carolina Public Radio:

  Amna, I — when I think about Nikki Haley, I refer to it as the peculiar case of Nikki Haley.

  So we have this native daughter, we have this former governor who was in position and made the call to remove the Confederate Flag from the statehouse dome. It was a really big deal. A lot of people and activists were trying to get that done. Seems like checks all the way down the board.

  But one consistent thing that kind of overshadows those things is, when I talk with folks on both sides of the political spectrum, is the criticism that they have on Nikki Haley about her is that they don't know who she is. That's what we're hearing from people.

  Just this morning spoke with a mom, entrepreneur mom of three. She says she is leaning heavily towards voting for Trump, and that's because he is firm in who he says he is and what he believes and his record. When I asked her about her opinions on the former governor, she uses the term chameleon. And she says she feels as though that the former governor is just becoming a better politician.

  So, even though this is Nikki's home state, and I know that Haley is looking to have home state advantage, for the Republicans here, it almost seems as though that this is Donald Trump 's home state. He's made lots of campaign visits and rallies here before. And just this past week, we saw him flanked on stage with many members of our leadership here in South Carolina.

  So it's a strange situation. It seems like a strange situation, but I think that's what our former governor will have to contend with as we lead up to our primary.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Meanwhile, as you know on the Democratic side, South Carolina holds real significance for President Biden. Black voters in particular back in 2020 really saved and resurrected his campaign.

  Four years later, are they willing to show up and motivated enough to show up and support him in the same way?

• Thelisa Eaddy:

  You know, a few weeks ago, when talking with a Democratic member who's working deeply in the party, the same messaging was there.

  They're celebrating the fact that they have this loyal bloc of African-American voters, and particularly female African-American voters, and they're very loyal, that they will get out and get the word out and knock on doors. But also in the conversation and also what they're pushing is that there is work to do.

  So we have younger voters in — who's now in the party. And they're trying to stress, as they get out the vote, they're trying to stress that we understand that you may feel a little disenfranchised, if you will, or that your vote may not always count or you — that you're not always at the forefront.

  But the term that this individual used was, we need you to have muscle memory. We need you to remember what party works for you. And so there are campaign events and rally events happening this weekend. And that's the messaging. They're trying to target their younger voters and they're trying to remind people that we are the party that's working for you.

  This person actually called today survival vote for African-Americans. So many of the issues that plague so many of the African-American communities here in South Carolina, the party wants those voters to remember that, we're in for the hard work. It's going to take hard work. It's not going to happen overnight. But have that muscle memory, remember who we are and stick with us.

  That's what I'm hearing from them.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Thelisha, the South Carolina electorate just broadly very different to the electorate we saw in New Hampshire and in Iowa.

  Who makes the difference in South Carolina and what are the issues that are on the tops of their minds right now?

• Thelisa Eaddy:

  You know, the mom that I spoke to this morning, when I asked her why she's leaning towards former President Trump, and she said she's really pleased with his record, I asked her in particular, what about his record?

  And top of her mind, immigration. And she said, that's a really key issue for her. What you're hearing, what I'm hearing a lot from people on the Republican side, what matters to them, the tie that binds them, faith, value and being able to determine where a person stands.

  And so she used the term, I like it when people — their message lines up with my faith values, what I read in the Scripture. On the Democrats' side a lot, what I'm hearing about is that survival vote. African-Americans are plagued with a lot of issues in different parts of our state, and so they want to make sure that they are heard.

  And so again, that large, loyal voting bloc for Democrats, the African-Americans and women who are really taking the lead and pushing the party forward, I think those two groups are the ones that would need to be watched during this time, during this cycle.

• Amna Nawaz:

  That is South Carolina Public Radio's Thelisa Eaddy joining us tonight.

  Thelisha, thank you so much. Great to see you.

• Thelisa Eaddy:

  Thank you.