A supporter of former President Donald Trump drives previous marketing campaign indicators for Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley in Irmo, South Carolina. The state’s Republican presidential major is on Feb. 24.

SOPA Images/LightRocket through Getty Images

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SOPA Images/LightRocket through Getty Images

A supporter of former President Donald Trump drives previous marketing campaign indicators for Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley in Irmo, South Carolina. The state’s Republican presidential major is on Feb. 24.

SOPA Images/LightRocket through Getty Images

South Carolina votes Saturday within the state’s Republican major, and former President Donald Trump is anticipated to defeat the state’s former governor, Nikki Haley.

Haley is attempting arduous to beat the chances, spending thousands and thousands of {dollars} on the airwaves, dwarfing what Trump and his allies are spending.

But even when she loses, Haley says she’s sticking around.

“South Carolina will vote on Saturday,” Haley mentioned in a speech this week. “But on Sunday, I’ll still be running for president. I’m not going anywhere.”

Her highway will maybe be much more daunting after South Carolina, however earlier than wanting past the Palmetto State, let’s check out the keys to successful the state and the way it all works.

How will it work?

The major is domestically run on the county stage and in the end licensed by South Carolina’s State Election Commission. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET, and there are greater than 2,000 polling precincts.

How many delegates are there?

Fifty — probably the most of any state to date. Still, after South Carolina’s Republican major, simply 6% of the overall variety of delegates to the Republican National Convention may have been awarded. At this level, Trump leads Haley 63-17 in delegates. A candidate wants 1,215 to be the nominee.

How does the state award its delegates?

Winner-take-all by statewide vote and based mostly on how a candidate finishes within the state’s seven congressional districts.

What do the polls say?

There have been only a few dependable polls forward of the South Carolina major, so any information needs to be taken with a grain of salt. That mentioned, in an average of the polls, Trump leads by greater than 30 share factors.

What are the keys to successful?

There are 4 distinct political areas: the Lowcountry, Pee Dee, the Midlands and the Upstate. In 2016, Trump received the first with 32.5%, and it was fairly unfold out, with him successful all however two of the state’s 46 counties. He narrowly misplaced Charleston County (Lowcountry) and Richland County (Midlands), which is dwelling to Columbia, the state capital.

• The Lowcountry, basically, is probably the most average of the 4. It consists of a lot of retirees, in addition to active-duty army personnel and army veterans. It’s additionally the place Haley lives. Her husband, Michael Haley, is at the moment deployed abroad as a member of the South Carolina National Guard.
• Pee Dee, named after the Native American tribe, is dwelling to Myrtle Beach and Florence. The area was a stronghold for Trump within the 2016 major. He received Horry County (Myrtle Beach) with 49%, his greatest exhibiting (by each share and variety of votes) of any county within the state.
• The Midlands is dwelling to the state capital, Columbia, and in Republican politics is the facility middle. That means conventional and pragmatic Republicans. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., received Richland County (Columbia) over Trump by 5 share factors in 2016.
• The Upstate is probably the most conservative part, with a heavy white, evangelical inhabitants. Lots of the Republican vote comes from right here, about 30% of the overall in a GOP major. The counties to observe embody Greenville and Spartanburg. Those two alone accounted for 1 out of each 7 votes forged within the 2016 Republican major.

If Haley was governor, why is she seen because the underdog?

Haley is attempting arduous to remind voters of her file as South Carolina’s governor, however demographically in a Republican major towards Trump, South Carolina is an uphill climb for her.

So far, Haley has accomplished properly with Republican-leaning independents, and Trump with self-described Republicans. But even in New Hampshire, the place nearly half had been independents, Haley nonetheless misplaced by 11 share factors.

And traditionally, South Carolina’s GOP primary voters are extra conservative and extra spiritual. Perhaps most significantly, although, there have historically been far fewer independents than in New Hampshire.

In Iowa, 82% of caucusgoers identified as Republicans, and Trump received there by 30 share factors. In New Hampshire, 50% of major voters recognized as Republicans, and there he won by 11 points.

Haley’s staff factors out that, like New Hampshire, independents are allowed to vote in South Carolina’s major. But in 2016, 76% of South Carolina GOP primary voters had been Republicans.

That makes Saturday a tricky contest for Haley — and it does not get any simpler heading into Super Tuesday.