Donald Trump hopes to win on Saturday with a decisive score in Nikki Haley's land in South Carolina, during crucial Republican primaries in the race for the White House. “We need your vote to save America,” said the former president to mobilize voters in this state in the southeast of the country. Despite his legal troubles, Donald Trump, 77, is the ultra-favorite in the race for the Republican nomination, which must nominate a candidate for the presidential election of November. The ex-businessman has already won his party's first primaries and, in doing so, skimmed off a large part of the competition.< /p> Nikki Haley, 52, is the only one standing in his way. – “New generation” – The plea of this woman, the only one in the running among the Republicans, is simple: “We will not survive four more years of Trump's chaos.” Republican primary candidate Nikki Haley speaks during a meeting on February 23, 2024 in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina (United States) © AFP – Julia Nikhinson She urges them to choose “a new generation of conservative leaders” instead. After Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, their duel moves to South Carolina, a state where Nikki Haley was governor for six years. Her bet can he be a winner, when the polls place her almost 30 points behind Donald Trump? Verdict Saturday. Polling stations in this Atlantic-bordered state will open at 7:00 a.m. (12:00 p.m. GMT). In recent days, tens of thousands of voters have already decided thanks to advance voting. Among them, Reinaldo Chacon, 64, who chose Donald Trump without hesitate. “He’s the man” for the situation, this retiree told AFP, praising the “leadership” of the former president. David Gilliam, 55, preferred Nikki Haley, believing that the candidate was better able to heal the wounds of a “divided” America. The first results will fall from 7:00 p.m. local time (00:00 GMT Sunday). – March 5, Super Tuesday – The stakes in this primary are clear. “If Trump is able to beat former Governor Nikki Haley in his home state, that would likely make him a candidate almost assured of the nomination of the Republican Party”, explains David Darmofal, political scientist at the University of South Carolina. During a public meeting on Tuesday, Nikki Haley, however, dismissed the idea of throwing in the towel right after the primary, saying that “would be the easy way out”. Former US President Donald Trump, candidate for the Republican primaries, speaks during a meeting on February 23, 2024 in Rock Hill, South Carolina (United States) © AFP – TIMOTHY A. CLARY After Saturday's primaries, Donald Trump and Nikki Haley should face each other on Tuesday in Michigan. The Republicans of Idaho, Missouri, North Dakota will vote in turn — a well-orchestrated ballet that will lead the candidates to one of the biggest political events of the year, Super Tuesday. On March 5, around fifteen states, including Texas, California, Colorado and Virginia will simultaneously hold their polls on a major election day — scrutinized around the world. The primaries can in theory stretch into July. But Donald Trump's team expects a victory “on March 19” at the latest. The former president wants to plan as soon as possible for his return match with Joe Biden, a Democratic president running for re-election — before being sucked into his serial indictments. His first criminal trial begins on March 25. All rights of reproduction and representation reserved. © (2024) Agence France-Presse
By Teilor Stone
Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116