WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press has declared former President Donald Trump the winner of the South Carolina primary over Nikki Haley as polls closed statewide. The AP based its 7 p.m. race call on an analysis of AP VoteCast, a comprehensive survey of Republican South Carolina primary voters. The survey confirms the findings of pre-Election Day polls showing Trump far outpacing Haley statewide. Declaring a winner as polls close based on the results of AP’s VoteCast survey — and before election officials release tabulated votes — is not unusual in heavily lopsided contests like Saturday’s primary. VoteCast results show Trump winning by huge margins in every geographic region of the state.
