Trump leads South Carolina with 48%, Haley edges out DeSantis with 14% in Fox Business Poll

Former South Carolina Governor and US Ambassador Nikki Haley overtook Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for second position in the South Carolina GOP primary while former President Donald Trump holds a commanding lead. 

According to the Fox Business Poll, former President Trump sits at 48 percent support from South Carolina Republican primary voters, while Haley holds 14 percent, and DeSantis is at 13 percent. South Carolina Senator Tim Scott comes in the fourth position in his home state with 10 percent of the vote. 

The numbers change when the voter is asked who their second choice would be, with DeSantis earning 20 percent of the second choice votes to Haley's 16 percent. When combining South Carolina voters' first and second choice, Donald Trump receives 59 percent, DeSantis sits at 33 percent, Haley at 30 percent, and Scott closes the gap at 29 percent.

When asked about how important electability is to the voters, 72 percent said that it was extremely important that the candidate they vote for can defeat President Joe Biden in the general election and 62 percent said it's extremely important that the candidate shares their views. 

51 percent of voters believe former President Trump is the most likely GOP candidate to defeat Biden for the presidency. 17 percent said DeSantis, 7 percent went for Haley, and 6 percent for Scott. 

Former Vice President Mike Pence received the highest share of voters saying that they would never vote for him, with 38 percent of the state's GOP voters saying it. 

The Fox Business poll was conducted with Beacon Research and Shaw & Company Research between July 15-19. It polled 808 random South Carolina Republican primary voters via phone calls and has a 3.5 percent margin of error. 

The South Carolina primary is billed as "The First in the South" and will take place on February 24, 2024. According to Fox News, in every GOP South Carolina primary since 1980, the winner has gone on to be the eventual Republican nominee, with one exception in 2012 when Newt Gingrich beat the eventual nominee Mitt Romney.