(NewsNation) — Nikki Haley needs to win her home state primary in order to gain momentum against Donald Trump, says Drew McKissick, the South Carolina Republican Party chairman.
McKissick spoke with NewsNation host Leland Vittert on Friday about the upcoming primary and said the South Carolina electorate has shifted since Haley’s time as governor.
“The issues have moved to the right here over the years since she has been governor,” McKissick said during a broadcast of “On Balance.”
“Both Haley and Trump have won general elections here, but the ground has shifted over to the right over the years. Also the electorate here is not the same as you have in other states. Since 1980, nobody has gone on to win the White House from the Republican Party without winning South Carolina. That momentum is going to be critical.”
The latest polling by The Hill/Decision Desk HQ shows Trump with a 33-point lead among GOP voters in South Carolina. Haley is in a distant second with 26%. It’s a significant margin with a month to go before Republican voters head to the polls in the Palmetto State on Feb. 24.
A large roadblock for Haley has been the slew of Trump endorsements from South Carolina politicians. Five of the six GOP House members have endorsed the former president, as well as both GOP senators.
Meanwhile, Trump has ramped up his attacks against Haley, sharpening his criticism and going after her supporters as he pressures her to drop out of the race.
In a new post on Truth Social, Trump said, “Anybody that makes a ‘contribution’ to birdbrain” – his nickname for the former UN ambassador and South Carolina governor – “from this moment forth, will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp. We don’t want them, and will not accept them.”