5 reasons why Trump won the South Carolina GOP primary

Former President Donald Trump's South Carolina primary win over former UN ambassador Nikki Haley was the culmination of a longstanding effort by the ex-president to cut off his potential and eventual rivals as he seeks to win back the White House.

Despite Haley serving as South Carolina's governor for six years, Trump eventually won the critical primary contest by over 20 points, reflecting his continued appeal among GOP voters — especially among the state's strong conservative base.
 

Trump won big with Republican voters

While some Republicans griped that Haley was seeking to court independents and Democrats in addition to GOP voters, South Carolina's open primary system allowed for such a campaign.

Even with that system in place, Trump still won the Republican primary because he won overwhelmingly with — guess who? — Republican voters.

Republicans made up roughly 68% of the GOP primary electorate, and Trump won them 70% to 30% over Haley, according to exit polling conducted by Edison Research for the National Election Pool.
 

Evangelical voters stuck with Trump

One of the most interesting phenomenons of Trump's victories in the Iowa caucuses and the South Carolina primary is the former president's enduring support with evangelical Christians.

In South Carolina, where evangelicals have long held immense sway in local GOP politics, they were all in for Trump this year, giving him 71% of their votes, compared to 29% for Haley.

And evangelicals made up well over a majority — 61% — of the primary electorate, per Edison Research.
 

Trump cleaned up with working-and-middle class voters

In recent years, there have been widening disparities in candidate support and the income levels of voters, with working-class voters increasingly shifting toward conservative Republicans, while upper-income voters have continued to embrace center-right Republicans while also becoming more receptive to Democrats.

Trump performed strongly with voters with making under $50,000 (72% to 27%) and between $50,000 and $99,999 (61% to 39%).

And Haley nearly beat out Trump (49% to 50%) with voters making over $100,000.