CHARLESTON: Donald Trump and Nikki Haley go head-to-head in South Carolina's Republican primary, with the ex-president expected to trounce his former charge in her home state as he closes in on the nomination.
Haley was a popular governor of the Palmetto State for six years before becoming Trump's UN ambassador in 2017, but her old boss is backed by the party establishment and nearly two-thirds of voters in opinion polling.
The candidates largely swapped only glancing blows in the early nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire in January, but the rhetorical artillery fire has intensified since the primary narrowed into a two-horse race.
"Tomorrow you will cast one of the most important votes of your entire life and -- honestly -- we're not very worried about tomorrow," a nonchalant Trump told an election-eve rally in the city of Rock Hill.
Seeking to demonstrate that he was already looking beyond Haley, he vowed to show President Joe Biden and the Democrats "that we are coming like a freight train in November," when the general election will be held.
Polls in the southern US state opened at 7:00 am local time. In a school near Charleston, about a dozen people came to cast votes in the first half hour.
South Carolinians do not have to indicate party allegiance when they register to vote, and are allowed to have their say in either the Democratic or the Republican primary.
Haley -- a more traditional conservative who espouses limited government and a muscular foreign policy -- will rely on votes from moderates, although the tactic did little for her as she lost to Trump in each of the first four nominating contests.
The primary comes amid signs that the frontrunner is tightening his hold over the party as he pushes for a reshuffle to install family members and allies at the top of the Republican National Committee.
His daughter-in-law Lara Trump has promised to spend "every single penny" of party funds on his presidential campaign should she become an RNC cochair, and has argued that paying his legal bills is of "big interest" to Republican voters.
Trump voiced support Friday for preserving access to IVF programs, calling on the state's legislature to "act quickly to find an immediate solution" to ensure it remained available. — AFP
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