SC’s Haley returns to Lexington County for presidential campaign rally
Former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley returned to where it all began Thursday, rallying in an area she represented when she was first elected as a state representative.
“We’ve all been through a lot together,” the Republican presidential candidate said to the sign-waving crowd at the packed Grove on Augusta.
A day after announcing her campaign had raised $11 million in her first six weeks of her presidential run, Haley rallied in Lexington County, making no mention of the indictment of former President Donald Trump, in whose administration she worked.
Instead, she focused criticism on President Joe Biden, as well as both Democrats and Republicans for racking up the national debt, prices at the grocery store and recent banking problems, among other issues.
“You don’t deserve what you’re dealing with right now,” Haley said. “Your families don’t deserve what you’re dealing with right now. But the way we will fix it is when you send a badass Republican woman to the White House.”
Among those in attendance were state Reps. Nathan Ballentine, R-Lexington, Chris Wooten, R-Lexington, Mike Neese, R-Lancaster and state Sen. Katrina Shealy, R-Lexington.
“Nikki’s a stud,” Wooten said. “We know that. She’s always fought for the things that conservatives value we need, not only in South Carolina, (but) across the country. Nikki is also a uniter. We don’t need somebody else to divide us.”
Neese said Haley needs to run her own campaign and not worry about the noise Trump creates. Neese added that Haley should focus on what she accomplished during her political career.
“It’s about getting out and touching the people and talking about the issues, not getting in all the drama like everybody else,” Neese said. “She needs to worry about getting her message out to the people.”
Early primary state
Not everyone in the crowd has committed to Haley this early in the campaign and are taking advantage of South Carolina’s early spot in the primary order to figure out who they want to support.
Brenda Lugmayer, 62, of West Columbia, said she wants to know how the candidates will handle China, Iran, North Korea and Russia.
“I like her, she was a great governor and I liked what she did as an ambassador, but I need to see more,” Lugmayer said. “Each (candidate) is something different, I like Trump, I like what he did for the country. He said ‘I’m going to do this’ and he did it. He needs to tone down a little, have a little more decorum, but he’s good. DeSantis he’s good. ... Everybody’s got something. I just need to hear from them.”
Mark Hood, 53, brought his 17-year-old son, Micah, to the rally, the first political rally of his life. Micah won’t be old enough to be vote in the South Carolina primary next year, but said he hopes to vote for Haley in November 2024.
“She values family and I think that’s a really important thing,” Micah, a high school junior, said.
Mark Hood is a Lexington construction manager, wore a “Nikki Haley for President” shirt and bought one for his son. Hood said he likes how Haley worked with others to get things done, both as governor and at the United Nations where she served as U.S. ambassador for two years.
“(She’s) not afraid to tell like it is, and not afraid to work with people too,” Mark Hood said.
Hood called Trump “his own worst enemy.”
“I’m not gonna lie. I voted for him in the last election, basically out of lack of a better option,” Mark Hood said. “Trump is just too bombastic. He’s too politicizing. You don’t have to call somebody names just because you don’t agree with their opinion or their policy.”
Haley said while she may be polling in single digits, she doesn’t expect that to be the case when primaries begin. She said she beat a 30-year incumbent to win her first State House seat. She said people doubted her campaign when she ran for governor with the least amount of money.
“I worked this state like no one else and you invested in me and we won,” Haley said. “Lexington, we’ve got to do it one more time.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2023 at 8:41 PM.
