CHARLESTON, S.C. – Former President Donald Trump scored another decisive victory Saturday in his march to the Republican nomination, toppling former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in her home state as he completed a sweep of all four GOP contests this year.

Trump’s victory, called by news outlets shortly after polls closed, had an air of inevitability. Haley trailed Trump by 30 points in South Carolina and she spent much of her time on the campaign trail insisting she would stay in the race regardless of the primary’s results.

His defeat of the last major Republican in the race adds to Trump’s momentum as the nominating contest turns to the slate of Super Tuesday states that hold their votes on March 5 and then Georgia’s primary a week later. Trump has hefty polling leads in those states, too.

But Haley has vowed to stay in the race at least through the next round of votes. She’ll next head to Michigan, where her ads are already airing ahead of Tuesday’s primary. She plans stops in Colorado, Minnesota, Utah and Virginia before those states vote next month.

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

And she hasn’t ruled out competing in the March 12 primary in Georgia, where she’s already released a lengthy list of donors, Republican activists and elected officials who back her campaign. Her aides say she’s built a financial network that can withstand the string of defeats.

“I said earlier this week that no matter what happens in South Carolina, I would continue to run for president,” Haley said at her election party in Charleston. “I’m a woman of my word. I’m not giving up this fight when a majority of Americans disapprove of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden.”

ExploreDetailed results by county from South Carolina

Still, her consecutive losses in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and now South Carolina have fueled fresh calls for her to cede the race to Trump so the general election campaign against President Joe Biden can start in earnest.

“She should have gotten out already,” U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, said during a campaign stop in Greenville earlier this week. “Nikki Haley’s basically destroying her political career by staying in the race, and she really should drop out as soon as possible.”

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Trump, meanwhile, was so confident in victory that he hardly campaigned in South Carolina. He spent his afternoon Saturday in suburban Maryland speaking at the conservative CPAC conference, where he painted a dystopian portrait of a second term under Biden.

“For hard-working Americans, November 5th will be our new liberation day,” he said. “But for the liars and cheaters and fraudsters and censors and imposters who have commandeered our government, it will be their judgment day.”

In another sign Trump has pivoted to the general election, he didn’t mention Haley’s name during his election night speech in Columbia. Instead, he said he’s “never seen the Republican Party so unified as it is right now.”

‘Barred from MAGA’

Haley and her allies have portrayed her as the anti-chaos candidate who offers an alternative to the Biden-Trump rematch that polls show many voters dread. Her campaign has played into the “David taking on Goliath” narrative; her campaign sells “Make America Normal Again.”

She’s banking on courting swing voters, independents, disaffected Republicans and even Democrats who are squeamish about both contenders. But the campaign has exposed the limits of the strategy, with Trump defeating Haley even in moderate New Hampshire.

Trump has also stepped up his efforts in Super Tuesday states. An effort to pressure GOP delegates is well underway, and he’s warned Haley’s donors would be “barred from the MAGA camp” if they continue to contribute to her campaign.

And he’s released dozens of endorsements, including several Georgia officials who were once skeptical of his comeback bid. Others, including Gov. Brian Kemp, have said they’ll support Trump if he’s the nominee despite their freighted history.

ExploreNext up: Michigan Primary

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Trump has effectively started his general election campaign even if Haley is still in the race, using a Friday stop in Columbia to look past the nominating contest and court Black voters for his November bid.

Trump told the Black Conservative Federation that his booking photo at the Fulton County Jail, where he faces election-interference charges, will boost his appeal with minorities who faced discrimination in the criminal justice system.

“When I did the mug shot in Atlanta, that mug shot is No. 1,” Trump told a crowd of hundreds who packed the black-tie event. “You know who embraced it more than anyone else? The Black population.”

Haley has indicated she’ll stick with her approach despite the dismal results. She plans to sharpen her criticism of Trump, who she has attacked with increasing urgency. At recent stops, she has invoked Trump’s threats to U.S. allies in Europe and his history of disrespect toward veterans.

And she pledged to continue courting Democrats and others who don’t typically vote for GOP candidates, saying Republicans shouldn’t “shun people out of their club.”

“We’re headed to Michigan tomorrow. And we’re headed to the Super Tuesday states throughout all of next week,” she said in Charleston. “We’ll keep fighting for America. And we won’t rest until America wins.”