COLUMBIA, United States, Feb 2, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Nikki Haley tried to fire up
the crowd at a South Carolina barbecue joint -- even though the polls say
Donald Trump is set to smoke her in the Republican presidential primary in
her home state.

"Head to head, Trump does not beat Joe Biden. I defeat Biden," the former
South Carolina governor told supporters on Thursday, as steam rose from piles
of fried chicken and pulled pork on a buffet nearby.

The ex-UN ambassador is now the sole challenger to her former boss, with
Haley, 51, hoping a home advantage will help her in the Palmetto State's
primary on February 24.

Her message is aimed at more moderate Republicans and wavering Democrats --
focusing on the "chaos" of Trump's first term, and bashing both the 77-year-
old and 81-year-old Biden as too old for a second term.

She faces an uphill battle. A Washington Post/Monmouth University poll
released Thursday showed Trump leading Haley by 58 percent to 32 percent.

Still, supporters at Doc's Barbecue restaurant in South Carolina state
capital Columbia said she could still win, describing the race as a choice
between a "Republican and a fascist".

"I just love her moral fiber," said Sarah Rock, from Columbia, sporting a
red, white and blue "I Pick Nikki" badge on her blouse. "She's not going to
have criminal issues and I think she is what our country needs."

Jody Lowman, from Lexington, South Carolina said he loved Haley's stump
speech. "Trump, he's going to lead us in another World War, if Biden doesn't
do it for us," he said.

- 'Country to save' -

Her rival's shadow is never far away though. Outside the Haley rally, a pick
up truck flying pro-Trump flags drove up and down the road in a seemingly
endless loop.

For weeks Trump has portrayed himself as the presumptive Republican nominee
as he seeks an extraordinary comeback to the White House.

Trump steamrollered the first two Republican votes in Iowa and in New
Hampshire, where Haley had hoped to appeal to its more independent voters.

Unlike Florida governor Ron DeSantis, Haley has refused to bow out and let
Trump focus on battling Biden. She points to a series of polls showing that
she would be more likely than Trump to defeat him in a hypothetical match-up.

Trump has therefore been forced to keep fighting in South Carolina, using
resources that he'd rather use on his national campaign -- and the multiple
legal cases he faces.

"I wouldn't give Nikki water if she was thirsty," said caregiver Regina
Sidik, 56, after local pro-Trump Republicans held a press conference on the
steps of the South Carolina statehouse on Thursday.

Wearing a "Team Trump" t-shirt and carrying a red Trump banner, Sidik said
she had voted Democrat for 20 years but switched to the tycoon and former
reality TV star because she wanted to "make America great again."

Haley's hopes for a home advantage in South Carolina meanwhile may be
misplaced.

"Haley's not the good one. She's didn't do anything for none of us," said
Sidik.

- 'Not going anywhere' -

Haley has also walked into a series of controversies during the campaign,
including when she failed to say recently that slavery was the cause of the
American Civil War.

The issue was a pertinent one in South Carolina, with a large Black
population that Democrats -- who hold their primary in the state on Saturday
-- are also trying to woo.

But her persistence in staying in the race has got under Trump's skin.

In a bad-tempered victory speech in New Hampshire, Trump surrounded himself
with leaders from South Carolina, including the current governor, in a show
of strength, and lashed out at Haley for refusing to quit.

Trump has also resorted to racially-charged barbs, repeatedly referring to
Haley, the daughter of immigrant parents, her by her first name Nimarata --
on one occasion misspelling it on social media.

The move was reminiscent of his frequently calling Barack Obama by his middle
name, Hussein, as part of his false smears that Obama was born outside the
United States and ineligible to be president.

Haley said she had "no personal problems" with Trump but insisted that she
would fight on in South Carolina and beyond, so long as she kept closing in
on Trump's vote share.

"This is a state we have worked really hard on," she told reporters after her
rally.

"We're not going anywhere."